Two Dollars Short

Yesterday I stopped by church to grab a bottle of holy water for a friend who is in the hospital. I said a few prayers in the chapel, picked up the bottle, filled it, and left. There was a sign that suggested a one-dollar donation to cover the cost, which I did not have at the time. I figured I could come back and make amends.

I was on the way to Jewel to get some cash, when I saw a guy out in the cold by the highway with a sign reading “Will work for gas.” My initial reaction was that this was a scammer to be avoided. But then, I started thinking about my own situation (in between job assignments,) and decided I would grab some cash for him, too. So I bought some bananas and a couple other things and figured to get $17. Ten dollars for the guy on the street, five dollars for the Salvation Army guy, and two dollars for a lotto ticket. I bought the lotto ticket, put five bucks in the Salvation Army kettle, and gave the street guy ten dollars. All is good. I figured this guy has to be real. A true bum would not sit out in the cold.

As I’m driving home, I realize that I forgot the dollar for the holy water, then I remembered that I had a couple of lotto tickets on the fridge at home. I’m expecting one of them to be a small winner which would solve my dollar problem.

I check five tickets. The last one was a two dollar winner. Great. I can bring that to church and pay it forward for the next guy who is short.

But then I got to thinking, we lit a candle a couple weeks ago and didn’t pay for that. No problem. I’ll give one dollar for the holy water and the other for the candle, and we’ll be even. So I march up to the candles, meanwhile, the grade school kids are in the church practicing for the Christmas pageant, and it brings back great memories of when my kids went to school there.

I get to the candles, and the sign says “Suggested donation three dollars.”

Crap. I put one dollar in and headed to the holy water table. The donation box is gone, and there is a sign that reads “This water needs to be blessed.”

Oh boy. I go back to the candle box and leave my last dollar. At this point I’m not sure if my water is blessed or not. Now what do you do? I went home and said a prayer asking Jesus to bless the water for me in case it isn’t.

I go to the hospital and give the bottle to my friend’s wife. She sprinkles some on his bed, I take a few drops and apply it to my friend’s forehead in the form of a cross. After a sufficient time visiting, I leave.

For those who are keeping track, I’m still two dollars short.

This morning I went and checked the new lotto ticket on the fridge. Wouldn’t it be fitting if it was a two dollar winner?

Guess what?

The lotto scanner says “Waiting on results.” The drawing isn’t until tonight.