Ponderings over my Afternoon Cup

After church and lunch today, I joined the throngs in the millions at the Lowe's in Little Elm. There was color everywhere...flowers, play clothes, church clothes, and even some colorful language! I encountered a family in the bathroom with a very upset child. At first, I thought it was a Sunday tantrum, by a little sweetheart needing a nap. Instead, it was a sweet mother trying to take her little daughter and herself to the restroom, along with her 2 year old son, who was screaming. He was screaming and crying hysterically because he was absolutely terrified by the loud noises of the flushing toilets! Terrified! I could only see his little croc'ed feet, but each time a toilet flushed, he would literally climb the door to the stall trying to get out! His precious mother kept telling him, "It's ok. We're almost done. Just a minute. It's ok. I promise, it's ok. Nothing will hurt you. It's just loud in here. It's ok...."

For the convenience of their customers, the toilets were self-flushing. Self-flushing. Which means that any movement in the tiny stalls would trigger the toilets to flush. Over and over. His agony was unbearable! Not the crying, not the desperation to escape. But the agony! All so that his little big sister could go to the bathroom. My heart broke for all three of them.

I bought my petunias and headed to my car, when I had my second momentous encounter. I was putting my basket into the organized gathering spot for empty carts in the parking lot. Just as I got there, a young worker arrived to gather those carts, wearing a disgusted look. The object of his disgust was a box sitting in the spot where a child or a heavy purse would normally be. He looked at me and said, "Really? They've got their nerve! Really?" I looked closer at the box and saw that it was a moving box with the competition's logo emblazoned in orange on every side. "I can't deal with that," he said as he picked it up. He got a confused look on his face and set the box back in the basket, pulling open its cardboard flaps to reveal its treasure...."Crafts....it's a bunch of craft stuff. Now, what am I supposed to do with a Home Depot box filled with craft stuff!" He spit out in my direction while meaning to only exchange disgusted glances. "...(muttering)...throw this junk away..."

I couldn't hold back now. "May I look?" and he nodded. Inside was someone's Craft Corner from Sunday School, including card stock, beads, fabric, and more. "Please don't throw this stuff away. Someone took this out of their trunk to make room for something else and forgot to put it back. This represents alot of money spent for someone's church. They didn't mean to leave it, and they are going to need it. Couldn't you just put it in a Lowe's box and put it at the front desk? You know someone had this at their church today. It's Sunday, it's getting hot, they probably brought kids, and it was just overlooked."

"But the box...?"

"Overlook the box just this once. Put it in another box. But please, hold it for the ones who left it. It's the right thing to do, you know it is. Please do the right thing. Let them come back for it."

"You are a lady who does the right thing by people, aren't you. You're that kind of person. Ok, I will take it in and save it for them. I will do it."

I said, "You won't regret doing the right thing. And I see by your name tag that you are a Customer Service Representative and that your name is Robert. Robert, I will go online to Lowe's website and post your good deed today. People will know that you did the right thing." His sheepish expression contrasted my wide smile and signaled the end of our exchange, but he had that box in his arms and was headed to the building.