’Tis the season ... so let me share a story about "the greatest gift of all."
I was filling my gas tank. Suddenly there was a young woman standing next to me holding a small gas container. Her story was simple. They had no money, no gas and wanted to get home for Christmas in Pennsylvania. Could I help?
I trusted her. It felt right. So I put gas in her container, and she was clearly grateful. She walked to her car and began pouring it in.
Then my friend Doug pops around the pump to confirm that I had given her gas.
Then he shouts to the girl, "How much gas do you have?" After she shouted back, "About quarter of a tank," Doug told her to pull up and fill up. He could do that. He owns the place. And he's that kind of guy.
When I left, they were at the pump. Another young woman and a guy were in the car. They smiled at me as I drove off.
I feel good about what Doug did. Not so much what I did. But it became an important part of my day.
We're pretty much always going from here to there, following some kind of plan, but the wonder of life and our precious time is what we bump into in between. And what we often bump into ... is each other.
I believe helping those three young people was a benchmark in my time. I hope they remember that moment in time.
And I'm recognizing time itself is a gift — to give and take.
Time, in a lifetime, is the greatest gift. And don't worry about wrapping it. Much of it is already hidden.
It's how you unwrap it that counts.
I’m Lonny Cain, and that’s my perspective.
