Normally my favorite local thrift store was packed with treasures, but today it was practically bare. The only thing I’d found was a children’s winter coat. It looked brand-new and was a beautiful shade of sky blue. The problem was the size—a 10/12. Much too small for my oldest child and too big for my youngest two. It wouldn’t even fit my nieces or nephews. Too bad, I thought, and started to walk away when the pastor in charge came over.
“Just so you know,” he said. “We’re moving to another location soon. All remaining items are fifty cents and what doesn’t get purchased will be thrown out.”
Fifty cents? I love a good deal and this coat had just become the bargain of the century. Still, I didn’t know anyone who could use it. Maybe I should just leave it, I thought. After going back and forth for what seemed like forever, I bought the coat. I couldn’t explain why, I just had to have it.
That night, I showed it to my husband, Don. “Nice coat,” he said. “Who’s it for?”
“Um…I’m not sure,” I said.
“So let me get this straight. You bought a coat but you don’t know who it’s for?”
“It was a good deal,” I replied.
I was as puzzled as him. Over the next few months I asked everyone I knew if they needed a coat. No takers. I was about ready to drop it in a donation bin when my mother-in-law stopped by.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a winter coat that the kids have outgrown, would you?” she asked. “There’s a young girl in our neighborhood who desperately needs one. Color and size don’t matter—just something warm.”
The kids hadn’t outgrown their coats, but I immediately pulled the thrift-store coat from the hall closet.
“Oh, it’s perfect,” my mother-in-law said.
It was the little girl’s favorite shade of blue. And just her size: a 10/12. A pretty good deal indeed.
