God, in His flawless way, intervened in a situation that could have frightened me and ruined a young man’s reputation. Had I known the danger I was in, I’d probably have panicked and reported his deed to his employer. As a result, this young man could have faced unpleasant consequences.
I don’t know if the young pizza deliveryman was guilty of planning a crime or innocently made a mistake. An unexpected turn of events rendered his plan, if there was one, unworkable. I had forgotten to hand him his tip, so I phoned his employer requesting that he come back. The young man returned hours later nervous and apologetic. Although confused by his demeanor, I rewarded him with a double tip for having to come back.
As I handed him his tip, he handed me my credit card saying he didn’t know how it had gotten into his pocket. I hadn’t yet realized that it was missing. Whether he made a mistake or tried to undo his wrongdoing, damage to him and to me was averted. God is good.
Young Man – God Favored You and Me
LORD how mysterious are your ways
You amaze me with your antics
Your ways defy semantics
I staggered to discover
An action undercover
That You hid
You weren’t testing but using me
You blessed a deliveryman
To turn him to the right
You showed Your power and might
Letting him escape the plight
Of character blight
Bless this young man and let him see
Your mercy to him was extended
For mistake or misdeed intended
I thank you for sparing me
From the brunt of his deed
You saw my need
By Carol Ann Hoel © March 20, 2011
_______________________________
Romans 11:33-36 – The Bible – O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-15 – The Bible – After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Cah4el's Blog 
Interesting incident! If you paid for the pizza with your credit card it would have been easy to trace the last place it was used, so the young man might have acted on impulse and then realized he couldn’t get away with it. Your kindness in having him return for a tip would have both played on his guilt and given him a way out. But then again, the card could have been mistakenly shoved into his pocket with the pen. Only God will know, and he may well have orchestrated the whole incident to give both of you opportunities to react.
Your poem expresses the situation well. Forgiveness is a powerful gift.
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Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your comment. I did pay for the pizza with my credit card, which is also a debit card. After he left, I went online to my account and saw that no extra charges had been put on it.
There was one other odd thing I didn’t mention in my post. At first he wasn’t going to give me my receipt. I had to ask for it. He also gave me the copy rather than the original. Every other deliveryman made sure I got the white copy. I felt a little uncomfortable about that when he did it, wondering why, but when I realized I’d forgotten to give him his tip, my mind became totally focused on my failure. Yes, God did work it out for both of us to react. I hope it was an accident, but if it was not, then I hope he learned from it. Blessings to you, Carol…
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Another example of how God can work all things out for his purpose. I can only pray that the grace you showed him resonated within him and moves him to seek what is right. I’ll bet that you probably said a prayer for him after he left.
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I prayed for him when I saw that I forgot to give him his tip. Then I prayed for him after I realized he had taken my card, either accidentally or on purpose. He seemed like a very nice young man. I hope, as you do, that he decides to take the right path in life. Blessings to you, Marianne…
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God does work in mysterioous ways!
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Yes, God does work in mysterious ways. I was very grateful that I didn’t know my card was missing until it was returned. This was a real blessing to me. I would have worried. I know we shouldn’t worry, but I probably would have. If God had been testing me on worrying and let me know the card was gone, I’d have probably flunked the test. For the young man’s sake, the Lord hid it from me. Blessings to you, Suzi…
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That was an interesting incident. I’m glad it worked out the way it did, for both of you. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.
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Yes, this incident had a happy ending. Thanks for stopping by, Patti, and for your comment. Blessings to you…
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Wow, Carol Ann–this could have turned out so badly for you and your husband…I am so thankful God guided his steps back to your door, and that he took the opportunity to correct his path.
may God continue to be guide him!
jane
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Thank you, Jane. God is good. I, too, hope that he will make right choices in his life. He was young. He could have been a college boy. Blessings to you…
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Debit/credit cards are scary sometimes. I’m so glad that the possible would-be-crook had a conscience and your card was returned to you. I do hope he learned a lesson and won’t make the same mistake again.
P.S. I would have failed the worry test miserably, too (if it’s any consolation!)
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Thank you for the consolation. Yes, I suppose it does make me feel better to know I am not alone in my weakness. God spared me and the young man by hiding from me the fact that my card was missing. The outcome could have been different if I had known. God was good to both of us. I, too, hope and pray that this young man knows Jesus, or soon will, and will live a blessed life. Blessings to you, Janna…
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What an irony. Your generosity may have caught him in the act.
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If so, the tip brought blessing to me as well as to him. It could have been my call to his employer that caused him to reverse a bad decision, thinking perhaps that I knew. On the other hand, he could have been the victim of a confused hand that somehow slipped the card into his pocket during the awkward transaction. Either way, I am glad it turned out the way it did. May God bless him and may he know that God is good.
Thank you for your visit and for you comment. Blessings to you, JoDee…
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your kindness prevented a young man from committing a serious blunder. it was brave of him to return you the credit card directly- next time you will be careful about it.
it was beautiful of him and you- both.
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Yes, it was brave of him to return the credit card in person. I’m very glad he did and that I didn’t know it was missing. Otherwise, I may have phoned his employer with a different message. God was watching over him. Perhaps it was a mistake that he didn’t discover right away. God only knows. May God continue to show him mercy and lead him to grace, and may he live a blessed life.
You are right, Trisha. I will be more careful in the future. In fact, my daughter told me I’d be wiser to order online. I phoned in the order, which I’ve done many times in the past. Now I will pay online or in cash. Blessings to you…
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Pingback: Young Man – God Favored You and Me (via Cah4el’s Blog) « Change is Never Ending
Definitely a win-win story. I see you quote from Romans. I have found reading Paul is time well spent as well as reading Martin Luther’s commentaries on Paul. Because of his connections with the Greeks Paul had a taste for spinach and feta cheese pizza and Martin Luther liked sausage pizza dunked in beer.
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Thank you for the interesting stuff about Paul and Martin Luther. Romans is a wonderful book. Romans 8:28 is on of my favorites. Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. Blessings to you, Carl…
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I’m happy everything turned out well for you Carol. My son had his debit card number stolen and before he knew it almost $800 was missing from his account. He got it all back but it was a mess for sure. God is good!
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Thank you, Jeanne. I am very glad that this didn’t become something more serious. I hope it was just an accident, but it should be over, in any case. Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. Blessings to you, Jeanne…
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I’m so glad things worked out with no one being harmed, Carol Ann. This surely made an impression on the young man, too, so he will probably give more thought to what he does in the future.
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I know I’ll be more watchful in the future. And, if the young man had wrong intentions, I hope he will change his direction and be thankful for God’s intervention in his behalf. If it was an accident, he probably won’t make that mistake again. I could tell that he was very nervous about it. Thank you for stopping by, Carol, and for your comment. Blessings to you…
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Carol Ann,
I believe this has God written all over it. How gently He moved the mountain of destruction for the young man by showing grace and favor through your generous
heart. How deeply the Holy Spirit touched the young man’s heart to not only come
back but return that which was taken. I believe you will one day hear his side of the story and it will blow our socks off when you share it. Who knows what this young man is destined to do. Here’s hoping this gentle nudge by the Holy Spirit is more than enough to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Thanks for sharing this with us. It’s always wonderful to hear what God is doing.
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I like your impression of this young man. If he did intentionally take the card, I hope someday to find out this experience became a turning point for him engineered by our loving Lord. If God in His mercy had not hid the missing card from me until it was returned, the story would have been much different for the young man. I’d have called his employer about my missing card instead of asking that he come back for his tip. Thank you for your comment. I like your description: “How gently He moved the mountain of destruction for the young man…”. Blessings to you, Elizabeth
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Amazing story, Carol, your actions may just have changed the course of the lad’s life for the better. Have a wonderful weekend. Love and light. xxx
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You have a wonderful weekend, too, Cindy. Thanks for stopping by and for your comment. I’m glad for the way it turned out for him and me. Blessings to you…
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A wonderful story. Perhaps in the end knowing exactly what happened is not the important part. Perhaps it is the fact that this young man was able to correct a situation and you enabled him to do it. In either case I’m sure there was a huge lesson in there for him….
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I agree with you entirely, Laura. The end turned out well for both of us. Blessings to you…
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…and no doubt he learned something. Thanks for sharing this story. I think it’s an important one, Carol Ann.
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Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. As I closed the door with my card in my hand, I was spellbound by what God had done for this young man. I knew it was a God moment. Blessings to you, Jamie…
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A divine appointment.
Knowing that Paul was a feta and spinach pizza kinda guy (as Carl pointed out) makes me like him even more.
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Thanks for your visit and comment, Zoe. A divine appointment indeed. Yes, I was really looking forward to our pizza that afternoon. Who could not like a pizza deliveryman? Blessings to you…
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