Nutty Coconut, Jamoca and Simple Kindness

Jill and I spent today working with Mom and Clark then Mom dropped Jill and I off at Sears so Jill could redeem a gift card she had from there. After shopping and gathering our purchases we decided to run over to Baskin Robbins and split an ice cream before Mom and Clark got back. It was going to be our special treat and we were going to destroy all evidence before they returned (that was the plan) I had just over $5 dollars in my checking account and I figured that was enough to cover one cone. We walked across the mall parking lot and ran across the road. Almost 7pm and the sun was shiny and it was hot and humid outside. Baskins is a tiny little store right across from the mall.

We looked at all the flavors and finally settled on what we wanted. I handed my card over to the girl at the counter and my gut silently told me I did not have enough to cover the cost of the cone and I should recalculate and get some cash. No, I thought, there is enough in its going to be fine. The girl who helped us had waited on us before and she was always cheerful and helpful no matter how long we took deciding on what we wanted. So she took my card and swiped, once, twice, and then a third time. Finally I leaned over the counter and told her that I would run over to an ATM and get cash if that was ok (she had already given us the cone) She smiled and said "yeah that is fine, don't worry I trust you guys." Then as I turned to go out the door the card went through and she called me back and handed me my receipt.

As soon as we were out I turned to Jill and said I think that I could have over drafted my account and usually the fees are huge even for just a couple of cents. Jill looked at me and said, I had extra money and I could have given some to you. I knew that but I had wanted to buy it for her. I told her we were not going to worry about it we were going finish our ice cream and relax. Quickly though we prayed and asked God that there would be no overdraft and if there was there would be no fee.

As soon as I got home I checked my account and found out that I was not over drafted, but as I went to compare the cost of the cone with what was in there it did not match. The girl who had waited on us must have added in a few cents for us from her tip jar and that is what caused the card to go through and cancelled any overdraft.

I wrote this story because Jill and I at the end of it concluded we were very stupid and careless in not adding accurately and we were always going to remember this adventure and always make sure we had enough before we charged a card. Also, we were both reminded of God's care and provision for us even when we don't deserve it. He does expects us to be good stewards of what he gives to us.

We also discovered that Baskin's "Nutty Coconut" and "Jamoca" are delicious when they are combined. We are going to go back in about a month order a cone each and leave a huge tip. Maybe we will take the others along too. :-)