Honesty and Hotdogs

"It's hotdogs"


Those were the words the teenager kept saying to my mom.

let me rewind just a bit.

I was eight years old, and after a long shopping trip, my mother and I were loading up the car, when she picked up her purse and noticed that a bag of hotdogs has slipped under it. Some people would have just tossed them in with the other grocery's, but not my mom. We finished loading the car, and then we walked back to the store and stood in line at customer service. My mom waited patiently as we moved closer and closer to the front of the line. I on the other hand, fidgeted, twirled, whined....you know everything a eight year old who is tired and just wants to go home would do.

when we finally reached the front of the line, my mom handed the hotdogs to the teenager and after explaining that she had forgotten to pay for them, reached for her wallet, only to find him looking at her like she was crazy!

"It's hotdogs"

"Yes" she replied

"Hotdogs"  He said it as if that would convey something to my mom. "You came all the way back in to pay for a bag of hotdogs?"

 My mom just smiled and said "it may only be hotdogs, but I cant take something that I didn't pay for.

"No one would know" he mumbled under his breath.

My mom handed the sulking teenager the money, collected her hotdogs, and we returned to the car.

Once we were in the car, she sat for a moment before turning to look at me.

"He was right, no one in that store would have know that we hadn't paid for the hotdogs. But I would have known, and you would have known, and more importantly God would have know."

That was not the last time this happened. There have been many times that I can remember her turning back and returning something that had not been paid for. She would always say the same thing. We would know and so would God.

Fast forward to now.....I am running late, I put something I found on clearance for $2.50  under my purse so my daughter wouldn't see it and we finished up our shopping, paid and headed outside to load up our car. I reached for my purse and there it was sitting...needless to say my daughter saw it, and since I had to grab lunch and get it home for my hubby in the next ten minutes, I didn't have time to take it back in. So I did the next best thing, as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I made a phone call to the store. not going to lie, I "knew" that the person I talked to was probably going to be rolling his eyes. I told him what had happen (with my eleven year old freaking out because she thought they were going to call the police on us), and I explained that I would return it later that day. I was pleasantly surprised when he said "thank-you.

After eating lunch with the hubby, we got back in the car and headed back to the store, where we waited in line.

And there was a teenager working......I knew what was going to happen.

"You came back to pay $2.50?"

Since my daughter was there I just smiled, handed him my card and we left.

What I wanted to say, was no, I didn't come back just to pay $2.50!!!

I came back because it was the right thing to do!

I came back because I was showing my daughter the importance of honesty!

I came back because It is my job to teach her right from wrong!

I came back because my daughter and I would know, and more importantly God would know!

As we walked back to the car, I had the same conversation that my mom had with me and my sisters.

I told her that no matter what something costs, it is never right to just keep it.

This wont be the last time this happens ( it wasn't the 1st), but each time it happens, we will talk about why it is important to do the right thing. No matter what other people may think about you.

Because I'm not just teaching her about returning/paying for items. No, I am teaching her that no matter what happens in life, we are to always do what is right, and even when we think that no one would notice, that no one would care what we do, that we would know, and so would God.

To be honest in all things, even when you think no one is looking.

Even when it is something small. 

That is the lesson I want her to remember :)