Instead I'm writing about a vital issue I am interested in, a matter of the utmost importance to me. That's right, I'm writing about food.
Here's the scene:
Sometime around 7:30 tonight I was about to walk into my apartment when I was seized by a sudden Taco Bell craving (of a magnitude I haven't experienced since college). So off I went.
I ordered an assortment of tacos and burritos that I was told amounted to $6.09. Let me deviate from my story for a moment to say there's one thing I hate about going through a drive-thru: trying to pull my wallet out of my back pocket. Especially when my seatbelt is fastened and I have to keep the clutch depressed and I know Chicago drivers will honk for no reason at all so I'm expecting a cacophony of car horns to erupt at any moment...
but, getting back to the story, tonight I didn't have to worry about any of that. Because I drove to Taco Bell without my wallet. Without the necessary $6.09.
I realized this sometime in that curve between ordering and arriving at the window. So I started digging feverishly through my change, extracting quarters and dimes, pushing pennies aside, hoping for some hidden Sacagawea dollars."That'll be $6.09," I heard the lady say when I, still hunched over the change in my center console, rolled slowly up to the window.
I looked over at her, my hands full of coins, and I said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had forgotten my wallet. I can give you change, but you'll probably need to take some things off my order."
"How much do you have?"
"I don't know. Three, maybe four dollars." And I started counting again. I felt pathetic, by the way. But what else could I do? (There was a car or two behind me, but miraculously no one was honking yet.)
I was scraping bottom when I finally amassed an even $5.
"I have $5."
She held out her hand, took my mound of change, and then gave me my food. All of it.
I felt like I should at least give her everything I had left. "Do you want all my pennies?"
She laughed and said, "Don't worry about it."
So I drove away. And I did so with a prevailing sense of gratitude. (I still felt somewhat pathetic too.) I don't know if she had to contribute the $1.09 out of her own pockets (I hope not). I don't know if her boss would care, or if her boss will even know.
But it's not just about the money. Not only did she extend grace to me when she cancelled my debt (so to speak), but she also did it without reluctance. She didn't let out a massive sigh of displeasure, didn't frown at me, didn't start muttering about idiots who try to buy things without money.
She was patient. She accepted the best I had to offer. And concerning the rest of what I owed her, she simply said, "Don't worry about it."
And at the risk of sounding feminine, I want to stay that I was touched by her kindness. I felt the way I always do when strangers are unexpectedly generous. Or when they extend grace to me in times when I least expect it...like in the Taco Bell Drive-Thru.
I know I could turn this into a spiritual message, focusing on the cancellation of debts idea or another aspect of grace. But I don't think I need to be that direct. I think the message is already there. And you're smart enough to take something from it without me preaching at you.
Besides I just wanted to briefly share this story so you could 1) laugh at me for being an imbecile (or as Brian Regan might say, an "imbecilen") and 2) so you might be encouraged like I was, reminded that there are a lot of kind-hearted people in our world.
I'm am also challenged to be one of those kind-hearted people when I have a frustrating experience with a stranger. I should strive to be someone who can shrug off an inconvenience, someone who can smile at the other person and say without a hint of resentment, "Don't worry about it."
--Thanks for Reading
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