lily was my inspiration

well, at least i can rest well tonight knowing i did the honest thing. i was on day one of my shopping today, thought i'd swing by rite-aid (at which i rarely shop) real quick, grab the few things i wanted, and head on to store number 3. it turned out to not be real quick, but rather real pain. had i not had a coupon to get $4 off a $20 purchase, i probably wouldn't have caught the mistake by the cashier. my bill was too low, but i couldn't quite figure out why. i told the employee that something must not be right b/c the total was too low for me to use my coupon. i couldn't have been off by that much in my calculations. i put the coupon back, paid for my things, and started out for the car. before leaving, i pulled out the receipt to see why i'd done so well. i spotted almost immediately that my most expensive item had not been rung up yet the coupon getting $2 off had. not only had i not paid for the item, i actually got paid $2 for it! i sighed b/c i knew i had to do the right thing, and the right thing would probably not be easy. lo and behold...it took over 20 minutes to get it straightened out. i'm sure there had to be a better way, and about halfway through the correction, i think we were all wishing i had just kept on driving. it cost me an extra $7, too, but i guess that's ok.

i know i did what was right. i wouldn't have been ok knowing that i had taken advantage of someone else's mistake. it reminded me of what my daughter lily had done a few months ago. she had gotten under-charged at wal-mart. she made me go the next day and fix the problem. i must confess. i was not happy about that one. it was just a dollar or so, and it just didn't feel worth it. i'm sure at some point i'd gotten over-charged at wal-mart so i figured it would even out in the end. however, that was not the point. i couldn't in good conscience let lily down. this could have been a defining moment for her. i've always tried to be a good role model for my kids, so this couldn't be ignored. i was so proud of her honesty and integrity. i think her example inspired me to do the right thing today. it took a lot of time and a few bucks, but it puts a smile on my face. i know, too, that GOD rewards us in other ways when we take the right path rather than the convenient one. thanks, lily, you're an inspiration.