It was cold, windy, and the snow pellets felt like bee bees hitting our faces as my husband, two small boys, and I headed into Costco for our weekly grocery shopping. We weren’t the only ones thinking it was in our best interests to stock up for an Iowa snow-in. There were so many cars in the parking lot!

We finished up and headed back out to the minivan. I loaded the boys into the car and began to transfer the groceries from the cart to the van as quickly as possible. Then, through the wind and snow, I saw another van pull up and a woman got out, waving to me. She said, “Did you see it?”

I replied, “See what?”

She said, “Your van! The whole back quarter panel of your van!”

I looked and saw what she was talking about. The back quarter panel had been gouged in, shattering the tail light and leaving a huge dent with multiple scrapes along the side and rear of my van. My heart plummeted. Christmas was coming, my major client was behind in paying me…I couldn’t afford to fix this! And who did it anyway?

The woman took my arm and said, “I saw it happen. The guy drove off. But I followed him out of the parking lot and I have his license plate number. Here.” She handed me a piece of paper and her business card. She went on, “I couldn’t just let him leave like that. It’s not right!”

I thanked her again and again as we said goodbye. She didn’t have to do what she did on this blizzard evening. She could have gone on home to family and warmth. But she didn’t.

It’s people like her, people that know what is right and go out of their way to do what is right…not what is easy, that keep my faith going even through hard times, We are all fighting battles of some kind. To set aside our own battle, even for a short time, and help someone else fight theirs is what ties us together as what we call humanity.