Find the Right Change

I fumbled in my purse for the correct bus fare.

Half a dozen people had boarded ahead of me, giving me enough time to have the correct fare ready. But I had been distracted watching the bus fill up, worried I might not get a seat. Then I decided at the last minute to use up the change in my purse.

With hands made numb by the cold, I pulled out a £5 note and dipped back in for the rest. I could see a £2 coin but was certain I had the correct change.

There! A row of five-pence coins wedged in between a cascade of larger silver coins. I just needed to pick them up. Again, the tiny coins slipped through my fingers.

My face heated with embarrassment.

I considered handing over the £2 coin, conscious that I was holding up the bus. Many of the passengers had already waited almost half an hour for the bus to come. I willed my fingers to handle the coins. Finally, I counted out the fare, took my ticket, and made my way to the back of the bus. At the next stop, passengers got off, but no one got on.

Then I noticed an elderly lady with a walker slowly making her way along the pavement toward us. Something about her movements told me she was aiming for the bus.

Wait! I wanted to shout. That lady is running for the bus! Though, in truth, what I had described as a run was only a slow shuffle. But the driver did not wait.

The doors closed. The bus moved forward.

My heart sank, and I berated myself for not calling out to the driver.

Surprisingly, in the next moment, he pulled up alongside her, opened the doors, and waited for her to get on board and take her seat.

Then I reflected—my sifting through the coins in my purse had delayed the bus and made it possible for her to get close enough to the bus stop for the driver to recognize her intention. We do not always know the times our actions have been prompted by the Holy Spirit or their impact on another life. So be encouraged, my sisters, as you continue to respond to these same gentle nudges. And Lord, when I am old and slow, I pray for patient bus drivers and passengers determined to find the right change.

Avery Davis