Sunday, Brad and I did the incredibly glamorous work of purging our closet. It was time to reorganize and get rid of things that no longer fit or that we just don't wear. We ended up with six bags of clothes and one black suit coat--a coat that Brad insisted not be put in the bags but be left in the dry cleaning bag and hanger.
Yesterday, I stopped by Goodwill to drop it all off. The first thing I pulled out was the coat, and I was holding it up to grab another bag when a man approached me...
"Excuse me, is that a suit coat."
"Yes!"
"Do you know what size it is?"
"I have no idea. Do you need one? Do you want to try it on?"
As he slipped the coat across his shoulders, he started to cry. "I prayed for you today."
He then proceeded to tell me that he had a really hard year. He lost his job, his wife left him, and he had to move back in with his parents. His father passed away on Sunday, and this man didn't have a suit for the funeral. As Brad and I were cleaning the closet, he was arguing with his mom about whether they should bury his father in his suit or if it should be saved for the son to wear to the funeral. They had no money for a new suit, and they agreed that if he could find one at Goodwill they would bury his father in his suit--something that was very important to this man. He had been able to find black pants and white shirt in the store but not a coat. Now he stood in the parking lot wearing one that fit perfectly.
Now we were both crying, and then he said this, "I prayed this morning that if God still loved me he would let me find a suit today. And now I have one."
I'm still in awe of that moment. He offered to pay me for the coat or to see if Goodwill would rush stocking it so he could pay them. I insisted he just take it exchange for a promise--that he would never forget how very much he was loved.
We hugged, and I am still filled with gratitude. I am so grateful to be used in that moment, and I will always be amazed by those moments of divine intervention and Grace.
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