Random Acts of Kindness

Today I had something really awesome happen to me.  (For those of you who have my Facebook sorry to repeat the story.)

I stopped at my regular convenient store to buy my morning Coke Zero.  The line was several people long and there was an older gentleman in front of me.  He was wearing a brown checkered shirt and I believe he had on a green baseball cap.  His phone rang and as he stepped aside to answer it he told me "Go ahead." 
I said "Oh, thank you!" and stepped forward.  The store has just put up a display of Beanie Babies and I got distracted by them.  (I was picking out which ones would be good for my family members and thinking I would have to bring some money to buy them.)
I heard the store clerk say "Next!" and I started to step forward.  The green cap gentleman had walked around behind me and stepped up.  I just shrugged and went back to looking at the Beanie Babies while I waited my turn.  I heard him having a conversation with the woman behind the counter but I wasn't paying much attention.  He paid and left.  I stepped up and put my drink down. 
The woman said "You weren't with him?" 
"No." 
"Oh!  He paid for your drink!" she exclaimed.
I was stunned.  "What? Seriously? What do you mean?" 
"Yes, he pointed to you and himself and said 'I got two' and paid for both." she said as she put her hands up to her mouth. All I could do was look at her and then look out the door.  I wasn't sure what to do.  Do I run after him and thank him?  Obviously he wanted to do it anonymously or he wouldn't have walked out so fast. Do I try to pay anyway?  It was a very confusing moment.  I stood there dumbfounded. 
Then I smiled and said "Really?  Wow!  Thanks!"  (Which then I felt stupid because why was I thanking her?) 
She smiled and said "How nice!"
"I know!"  I replied and headed out the door to try to catch him and thank him.  By the time I got outside he was no where to be found.  I didn't even see him drive off.  It was like he disappeared.

I know it was God.  I mean, I know it wasn't actually God standing there wearing a brown checkered shirt and a green baseball cap talking his cell phone (or was it?).  But it was God working through this gentleman even if it was as small as just buying me a soda.  I have always heard of random acts of kindness. This was the first one to happen to me.  That man will never fully know the difference he made in my day.  He will never know how all the stress I woke up with this morning vanished in that moment.  He will never know I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day.  He will never know that I will never forget him.

People, including myself, are so quick to be negative.  We are fast to complain, point out all the bad, and say there is no goodness left in this world.  We see the news and can't help but wonder if there is ANYTHING good left on Earth.  Then we get experience and share little glimpses of goodness.  We get true random acts of kindness that, for a moment take our breath away but, for a lifetime sustain our faith.

Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness.  Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. --Scott Adams