Three Dollars

As I pulled out onto Bear Valley Road after just having a warm cup of the seasonal Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks my thoughts turned to the bumpy, uneven slow lane. It was then I glanced over and saw a middle aged woman holding a cardboard sign on the side of the road explaining she had been laid off and had two kids. I thought maybe I should give her some money, but she was in a difficult spot to reach and traffic was moving so I decided not to attempt. It was then it hit me. No, I had to get to this woman. I looked in my review mirror and noticed her walking back to her pick up truck and I kept praying she would stay put till I could get to her. I then was able to get off Bear Valley, park at a gas station, and run over to her truck. She was sitting there with her two young boys and opened up the truck door as I ran over. I proceeded to hand her the three dollars. Now I have given homeless people money, and I have given them food. Normally I like to do food since you never know what they are going to do with it, but something had pulled at my heartstrings to give her the money. As I gave her the few dollars I have never seen such a grateful face before in my life. I began to say God bless to her and she reached out to give me a hug. I told her God would provide and she said I know He is so faithful. I proceeded to tell her I would be praying for her and she looked overwhelmed. Now I don’t know what was going through her mind as she was walking back to her truck, if many people had stopped, if she ended up getting a lot of money, or if she was extremely disappointed. I don’t know how much money she needed and I don’t know if the three dollars even compared to maybe a hundred dollar bill someone may have given her, but what I do know is that I believe she saw a glimpse of hope and that someone cared to turn around just to get to her. Looking back, since I was in no hurry, I wish I had prayed with the woman. I wish I had given more. I wish I had asked if I could buy her and her boys some lunch. I wish I had gotten to know her. I’m normally very wary of strangers, especially men and rightfully so, but there was something about this woman that made me attached. I don’t know exactly if there is a huge point to this story, except for if you can bless another person then do so. What I do know is that driving by she was just a common woman standing on the side of the road with a sign, but when I took the time to get to her I have never seen such a beautiful, genuine sight of her face lighting up with gratitude.