At the Parent Swap-meet, My Big Find

A little while ago we went to a large outdoor parent-swapmeet in San Diego. It was a hunt to find cheap second hand gifts, books, clothes, toys, and non-essentials for the kids.

I was excited about going, but after we woke up at 6 am and drove up from Mexico to go and then stood in line for 20 minutes to get in, I went to use the bathroom and left my purse (containing just about all the cash we had) in the bathroom. 

15 minutes down the first lane I realize my purse was missing. Went back to check if it was there. It wasn’t. I was pointed in the direction of the swap-meet organizers tent and checked with them. It wasn’t there either. Finally I went toward the ladies standing at the entrance collecting admission fees and saw my purse on one of the ladies’ shoulders. Someone had turned it in! You can imagine my joy. I felt very rich at that moment.

After the swapmeet was over we went to lunch with the crew of friends who we’d ended up with there. As we swapped “what did you find?” stories, I told mine. “I found my purse!” That’s when I discovered that my friend and fellow Home member, Maria, was the one who had found my purse and turned it in. She didn’t even look inside the purse, so she didn’t know it was mine. She found it in the bathroom and took it straight to the staff there.

Number one, I am thankful that the Lord allowed her to be the one to find it. (Yes, I was praying very hard to find it.) 

Number two, I think that says A LOT about Maria. She did that honest and unselfish deed for a perfect stranger as far as she was concerned. And it turned out to be for a friend.

Thank you Maria, I’m so blessed to know and live with someone like you!