No Accident

Despite the title of this blog, I have lapses of consciousness when it comes to the presence of grace in my life. I am an incompletely reformed pessimist, and there are still days when I am convinced that the universe is out to get me. The Presidents' Day holiday turned out to be one such day. I made the 35 minute walk on an empty stomach to Kaiser only to find that I could not get my lab work done that day (I had asked my doctor if they would be open, checked the website, and called ahead. I don't think the fault is mine on that one). Later that day, I tried to pick up my drycleaning. Yup, they were closed, too. Then I went to Longs with a bag full of errands to complete. I hadn't allowed enough time, couldn't find the stuff I needed, and was generally feeling grouchy. The last straw came when I was unloading my cart at the checkout stand and I noticed that the frame I was about to buy had an ugly scratch on it. So I pulled my stuff off the conveyer in a huff, swearing the whole while not quite under my breath, and barged past the rather startled woman who was waiting with her son behind me in line. I abandoned the cart in the middle of the store and left.

I didn't think any more of it until I got a strange, lumpy envelope in the mail the following Friday. When I opened it, I found the bag I had been carrying in Longs. It had the bill I was planning to mail to PG&E, my National Board certificate that I was planning to frame, a check I was planning to deposit, and a letter:

Ms. _____
We at Longs have found these items in our store. By returning them to your
address we hope it will help you with your concerns.
May God continue to bless you and watch over you.
Longs Drug Store Employees
Department Manager
______________

This prompted a flood of feelings. First of all, I was a bit freaked out that I had left all that important stuff on Monday and didn't even notice until I received the envelope on Friday. There's a wake-up call that perhaps I am a bit overextended! I also felt like a complete heel for leaving the cart, making a mess for these good people to clean up. Mostly, though, I felt humbled to receive a sign of God's grace in return for my shabby behavior. I showed Suzanne the letter, and she said, "That wasn't an accident."

She's right. It wasn't.