so as it turns out, people are good

Allow me to tell you a little story. This story will rock your world. And if it doesn't then just know that it rocked mine and that should suffice.

This is a story about loss, about prayer, about letting go and about moving on. This is a story you can tell your kids to show them that they can be good people who do good things, right things, when faced with the opportunity to do the opposite. Tell them this story as a way of teaching them integrity, that they can choose the right and live knowing that they have. This is the kind of story you start with "Now listen to what happened to a friend of mine..." And then watch their faces closely as they hear the ending. It'll be worth it, I promise.

Now, let's see, where do I start?

Yes, I know, it was a Tuesday. It was last Tuesday, in fact, and I sent the man a text that said "Please bring home $1000 cash tonight to pay for football and first aid training."

The man responded with a "K".

A few hours later I got a phone call. From the man. He told me he'd gone to the bank and taken out $1000. And then he'd gone to the tool store. And then he went to the convenience store. And then he noticed his wallet was missing. He lost his wallet.

He lost his wallet.

It was like someone kicked me in the gut. My husband lost his wallet. His wallet had $1000 cash in it. I didn't know what to say.

What can you say? What is there to do? He had already retraced his steps. He scoured both parking lots. He grilled cashiers, made phone calls. He did everything he could.

I went to the bank and withdrew another $1000 to pay for football and first aid. What a blow.

What a blow.

I said a prayer. All I asked for was comfort. All I wanted was to not have to think about it. It was making me ill.

Later that night we talked about it to death. The man was convinced the cashier at the store had taken it. I was convinced it fell out of his pocket in the parking lot and someone had found it and kept it. He was sure it was a drug addict, I was hoping it was a flood victim who thought it was manna from heaven. It didn't matter who found it, the money was gone. What could we do but move on?

The next day he called the tool store to see if he could watch their security footage, which they agreed to but had to go through a third party security company. After the store contacted the security company they contacted the man and told him this "the camera shows you paying for your items, putting the wallet in your left pocket and patting it. Did we still want to see it ourselves?"

No. We both knew the left pocket and the patting was Darcy to a T. It's what he does with his wallet every. single. time. We knew she wasn't making it up.

We knew the money was gone. It was hard to let go. So I said another prayer. This time I asked for comfort again, and what the heck, some integrity. I asked that whoever found the wallet would find the courage to mail it back.

What else did I have to lose at this point? Might as well ask for the stars. So I asked. And then I stopped thinking about it.

 I was moving on.

Until tonight. I was lying on my bed watching Netflix, the man was on driving duty. I was thinking about a book I had ordered online but hadn't received yet. I needed to go check the mail.

I went to the mailbox and low and behold, there was my book. But there was also something on top of it. A large package. But it had Darcy's name on it. I put it aside begrudgingly, it wasn't mine to open. Sometimes I am the patient wife.

And sometimes I am not.

I opened it.



The letter says, " Dear Mr. Dabels,

I found your wallet lying on the ground outside of Busy Bee Tools on August 20th. My initial intent was to leave it with the store staff but when I found that it contained a significant amount of money I decided to hold on to it. I admit the temptation to just keep the money was huge and I kept changing my mind as to what I should do. In the end I decided to do the right thing and return it to you.

I apologize for the inconvenience my indecision and procrastination has no doubt caused you. I hope this finds you well."

It was signed.

There are no words to describe my gratitude. This letter and the contents of this package speak for themselves, I believe.

People are good. As hard as it can be sometimes, people try, and they succeed at goodness. And also? Remember that people are good, and prayers get answered and they even sometimes get answered exactly the way you want them to.

Do me a favour? Pay something forward on behalf of the person who sent all this money back.

Please.

And thank you.