"It's On Me" -- Somewhere in Orlando, Florida
We were paying for our order of coffee and donuts at a Dunkin Donuts fast food restaurant somewhere in Orlando, Florida, when the man behind the cash register said: "It's okay. It's on me." He had a smile on his face.
"You are kidding, right?" I said.
"No, I 'm not," he replied, still smiling.
I was surprised. "But why?" I asked.
"I just remembered my grandmother, who was confined in the ICU of a hospital and suffered a lot. I hope your loved one gets well soon," he explained.
Probably sensing my bewilderment, he pointed to the hospital visitor's pass still stuck on our shirts. The name of the hospital was in big, bold letters. He was obviously familiar with it. We had just visited my seriously sick brother confined in that hospital for over a week. We had flown in from Maryland when we learned he was in critical condition after a bad fall.
We thanked the man, Richie, profusely for that unexpected good deed and proceeded back to our hotel, thinking about what had just happened.
This was not the first time people we did not know paid for our food. The first time, in a Korean restaurant in Maryland, our benefactor did not know us, nor did he want to be identified. The second time was in a Dunkin Donuts fast food, somewhere in Florida. But in both instances, we were sure these people just wanted to do something good for others. In both cases, the gestures put our minds on a thinking mode. We were sincerely appreciative and very grateful.
About two thousand years ago, Someone said: "It's on Me" -- somewhere in Jerusalem. That Someone paid our bill, with His own life, so that we might have eternal life. He paid a debt He did not owe because we had a debt we could not pay.
Amid the culture of indifference, conflicts and hate we are living in now, there are still many people who have compassion and caring hearts for others. They reflect the compassion of that Someone Who manifested to us all what it means to give it. He placed that compassion in our hearts for others, and this gives meaning to our lives.
If only we could often say: "It's on me." -- somewhere where I live, somewhere I can reach. . .!#
"By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another." (John 13:35)
