Last week, I headed out during lunchtime to pick up a Christmas gift for my dad. On my way back to the office, I stopped to get a salad from Potbelly Sandwich Shop. I paid for the salad, made it back to my desk and hung up my coat. That’s when it hit me. My wallet was missing.
I’d like to tell you that I remained calm, cool and collected like the lady my mother raised me to be. Unfortunately, all that lady training went out the window, and I completely panicked. I searched my coat pockets, the paperwork on my desk and even the bag the salad came in (maybe my wallet had somehow gotten mixed up with the lettuce and tomatoes?). But it was nowhere to be found.
I thought of my beautiful pink wallet, which was brand new. I’d probably dropped it at Potbelly. What were the chances it was still there? This was New York City, a place that warns you to watch your belongings like a hawk if you dare to ride the subway.
I called Potbelly and a young man answered. “Hello,” I said. “I think I left my wallet…”
“Was it pink?” the guy said before I could finish. “I have it here for you in our safe.”
I rushed over to Potbelly and thanked the employee who’d kept it safe for me. He wouldn’t take credit for the good deed, though. Apparently a customer had found my wallet by the registers and handed it over.
It felt like a Christmas miracle. And then I remembered this wasn’t the first time strangers had treated me and my wallet kindly. Back in June, I’d visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage to report on their Stitching History from the Holocaust exhibit. Afterward, I stopped at Cosi for lunch and ordered a salad. (Yes, my lunches tend to be very boring.) I got to the register, reached into my bag for my wallet… and found absolutely nothing.
I’d left my wallet at home! I explained to the cashier what’d happened and apologized. I fully expected her to take the salad away and say something like, “Mark my words, you’ll never eat at a place like this again!”
But the cashier just handed me the salad and said, “Don’t worry about it, come back tomorrow.” She had no way of knowing whether I’d return or not. But she knew I had no other way of getting lunch, so she’d decided to help me out.
There are a number of lessons I derived from these two lunchtime incidents. One, I definitely need to keep a much better eye on my wallet! Two, God is always working wonder in our lives, whether it’s during Christmastime or the middle of summer. Lastly, there is goodness in the world. And, even in a big city like New York, a small act of kindness from a stranger can leave you transformed.
