And Then He Answered

We were smack in the middle of the worst of our financial times and my son needed shoes. Badly. He only owned one pair of shoes and they were two-sizes too small and falling apart. We're talkin' holes in the toes and nearly detached soles. But I had no money for shoes, just barely enough for my weekly groceries. Big problem. So, I prayed.

That week, I went to the ATM to remove my weekly grocery money trying to figure out how I could squeeze out enough money for shoes AND still have enough for the supermarket. I was about to put my card into the ATM machine when I noticed that the cash removal slot wasn't empty. Someone had left a $20 bill behind. I pulled it out with mixed emotions, on the one hand wanting to take it and run but also knowing that this money belonged to someone else. No one had been in line ahead of me. I easily could have run off with it and no one would be the wiser. Still, this belonged to someone else and my conscience wouldn't allow me to just take it without trying to return it to it's rightful owner. If I left the money there, the next guy would likely just take it. I prayed that whoever left it would come back to the ATM looking for it and then I waited. No one came.

Still feeling somewhat guilty (though I couldn't really figure out why) I left with the $20 bill after waiting as long as my time would allow. I began believing that just maybe this was God's provision, though I questioned his methodology!

I arrived at the Shoebox hopeful but not expecting anything. I don't normally shop for shoes at the Shoebox. Most of the shoes there are good brand names at discounted prices. (Translated, this means that you can buy a pair of $90-shoes for $60.....) But, my son's feet were a Youth's size 6 at the time, an almost impossible size to find, and I had already checked all of the Walmart-like stores around. Oh, but did I mention he has fine motor skill difficulties and couldn't tie his shoes even though he was 9 years old? We needed to find Velcro ties.....on a Youth size 6 shoe. Yeah, right.

We walked in and went straight for the back room clearance section. The clearance section is the "we've got to get rid of these things" section and is generally a mish mash of sizes and styles. To my shock, there were three pairs of Youth size 6 sneakers, a miracle in and of itself. The very first pair I picked up were Skechers. Not bad. Boy's Youth size 6. Good. With Velcro ties, not shoelaces. I did a double take. Really? Yes indeed. Velcro tie boy's shoes, Skechers no less, Youth size 6.

And the price?

Yup, they were $20 exactly.

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