Today I had A LOT of errands to run so by the time I got to Walmart I was tired and ready to go home but I had a long list of groceries to pick up. As I headed towards the store, I noticed that a purse had been left in one of the carts outside. Another gal and I both saw it and we talked about how scared we’d be to realize we’d left a purse somewhere. I had to return some leaky facewash anyway so I took the purse in to Customer Service. Just after I handed it to the Walmart gal, a lady came up to the customer service desk looking a little frazzled. The Walmart gal guessed that she was looking for her purse so she returned it to her with a gesture towards me to indicate that I’d brought it back. The woman was so grateful and kept thanking me and saying “God bless you.” I told her it was no problem and I would’ve panicked if I’d been in her shoes and that I was just glad she had it back. She asked where I’d found it, shook her head, thanked me again and left. She returned about a minute later and held out a $100 bill. I told her it wasn’t necessary, it was really no problem and I was just glad she’d found her purse. She kept insisting and finally said “Please take it, I want to bless your life. ” So I took it, thanked her profusely and sat there in a stupor for a minute or two. Are you kidding me? $100 for returning a purse? I mean, we’d all be profoundly grateful but that’s grateful and extremely generous.
After a second, the guy next to me was like “Did she just give you $100??” I replied that she had and self-consciously said that anyone would’ve returned the purse. He said “No, not anyone.” To which I replied, “But most people would’ve” and he agreed. I thought a lot about those three conversations with the girl in the parking lot, the lady with the purse and the guy in customer service. It was rewarding to realize that most people are good and honest and to have it re-affirmed by three total strangers at Walmart. It was also comforting to realize that if it had been my purse, there was a good chance that someone would’ve done the same thing I did without giving it a second thought. After finishing my transaction, I wandered aimlessly around Walmart for about half an hour thinking about how lucky I was because so many things had to happen just right for me to be the one to find the purse and get the $100. What a nice lady and what a blessing!