It Started with Green Beans

Her name is Jane. She shops at Dollar General. Our paths crossed  for the first time last week. She was looking for the store brand cut green beans. There were only French-style on the shelf. I helped her search for them. The assistant manager checked the inventory and saw there were 12 cans in the store but we couldn't find them anywhere. We searched all over. Nothing.

It was rainy that day. Torrential downpour kind of rain. We chatted about the rain and the standing water in the parking lot. That parking lot always has standing water when it rains. It always has. I told her that I remembered riding my bike there to the grocery store when I was a little girl and I knew I had to go in the back way if it had been raining. She told me she lived on a street a bit north of the store and had for 35 years. She described the house. I know it well. She always decorates for each season. I admire it every time I drive by. She went out into the rain to go home.

I kept my eye out for those green beans. 12 cans were somewhere in that store. I simply had to find them! I told the manager to let me know if she found them. Several days went by without green beans. Today, I went over the the store to get some boxes for my cleaning project. While I was there, the manager said she had found the green beans! My daughter and I picked up three cans of them. I told her we needed to make a delivery.

Away we went towards the well-decorated house. It sits right along the Saint Joe River. It's not a fancy house. It's not a huge house. But it's very welcoming. We pulled into the driveway and walked up to the door. I heard her through the window when she saw me. She said, "Why, hello there!" She met us at the back door. I told her we had a little present for her. I gave her the bag of green beans. She was elated! She was shocked that I would even think about those green beans. She invited us in and even offered to make us lunch. We met her husband, Wade. She showed us around her house. She has two daughters and no grandchildren. I have a feeling they don't get much company.

As we were leaving, she said, "I forget what your first name is." I told her it was Brenda. She said, "I'll remember that for sure! I have a daughter named Brenda. She lives in Florida." You know what? I don't think Jane was supposed to find those green beans in the store last week. I think I was supposed to find them today and take them to her. I am pretty sure Sarah and I were the ones who were blessed today. But I do hope that Jane and Wade were a bit blessed, too.