The Kindness of Strangers..........

Today, all a person has to do is turn is on the six o’clock news to be reminded of how cold and cruel this world can be. Last week I experienced just the opposite. I was blown away by the kindness of a complete stranger.
While travelling through New Brunswick we stopped at an ice cream stand just off the highway. The kids were tired of being in the van and this seemed to be just the thing to do... let them out and give them a treat. After getting out of the van an older couple pulled in with their trailer. They got out to walk their little lap dog and the kids stopped to pet the dog, at which time we struck up a two minute conversation with the dog’s owner. We then went into the shop where we ordered ice cream. I promptly paid for it and picked up the ice cream and left. As we drove off I did not realize that I had left my wallet on the counter with all my credit/bank cards and a substantial amount of cash.
That evening we made it to our friend’s cottage in PEI. The following morning we decided to take our family to Cavendish and visit some of the tourist attractions. When we arrived at Green Gables I reached for my purse and noticed that my wallet was not there. I did not think much of it for I just thought my wallet was back at the cottage. Cliff paid for our admission into Green Gables and we headed onto the grounds. We were in there for five minutes and Cliff’s cell phone rang. It was my mom calling from Ontario to tell us that my wallet was missing and this lady named Mary had it and was trying to reach us. Then two minutes later the phone rang again and it was my brother-in-law Matt. He had Mary’s phone number. They had been trying to contact us all night but our cell phones were out of range. So Cliff gave Mary a call. When he spoke to her he found out they were staying in PEI and were planning on going to Cavendish that morning. She said she would call us when her family arrived in Cavendish then we could arrange a spot to meet to get my wallet.
So after our visit to Green Gables we did the touristy thing and went to the Cavendish boardwalk. We were sitting down at Mr. Sub ordering our lunch when the phone range again. It was Mary. Her family was in Cavendish........they had just pulled into the parking lot......of the Cavendish boardwalk.......While still on the phone, Cliff walked outside and told them to find Mr. Sub as he would be waiting on the stairs. Within several minutes they found us and I had my wallet back. After thanking them profusely for all their troubles Cliff tried to offer them something. Mary refused and said, "Just have a great vacation." We thanked them again and we went our separate ways.
As we sat down in Mr. Sub and finished our lunch, both of us were so moved by the kindness of a complete stranger and her family who went to all this trouble to reunite me with my wallet. They had brought this wallet through one and a half provinces and all of my cash and cards were still there, not a penny was missing. I was not even stressed about it for a minute because it had been found even before we realized it was missing.
So tonight, or this morning or whatever time it is.....don’t turn on the news. Instead rejoice with us in this wonderful story of how we were shown kindness ......the best yet most difficult kind of kindness because you know it can never be directly repaid......the kindness of a complete stranger.