Anonymous Giving

So, I was in line at my credit union to make a deposit at the end of December and I overheard the woman in front of me discussing her payment with the teller. It was clear from the conversation that the woman was several hundred dollars behind in her car payment, and that she paid the past due amount with some degree of struggle. The Holy Spirit told me to give the woman $100.

I immediately started to second guess the feeling. What if the woman was behind because she had gotten in over her head with a luxury car she shouldn't have bought? What if she was a poor manager and had brought the situation on herself? What if she didn't have money for her car payment because she spent her money on a drug or alcohol addiction? I felt a little foolish as I got to the teller and asked her about it.

I said to the teller that I knew she couldn't give me any details, but did the woman in front of me in line seem like the type of person who would appreciate a donation in her account? She said she didn't have any details at all. I asked if she could still access the woman's account and she said yes. So I told her to transfer $100 from my account to hers. I realized that a transfer from my name wouldn't mean anything, so the teller let me write a note on the back of a charitable donation card (apparently they have them for accounts set up to help with medical bills etc). I wrote "I don't know if you need this, but here's a late Christmas gift. Pay it forward someday. Regards, Jordan." As I left the credit union my feeling transformed from one of doubt back into one of assurance that I had done something that was needed. It's hard to explain what it's like to feel that you have been led to be the answer to another person's prayer (it's happened to me a lot of times and always feels great) and I'm sure from an outsider's perspective it might look foolish, but it feels great.

So I saw the woman's name on the donation card, which was probably not a great thing because it let me do just a bit of internet stalking that night. I gather that she has four kids and a husband who may be a bit underemployed. I know her apparent merit shouldn't matter given the source of the inspiration to give, but I admit it was more gratifying to imagine her telling her husband and four kids about the donation. I like to imagine (if this isn't too presumptuous) that the recipients of our anonymous giving thank God for the gifts. I like to think He gets the praise.

As a postscript, I just noticed while doing some budgeting that the $100 was transferred to their auto loan. :P Not as cool.