My husband, Scott, and I were getting into our car parked in the garage at Newark Airport. It was 10:00pm. We had just completed a full day of travel back from San Francisco, and were eager to get home after a week away. However as we got into our car, Scott realized that he had lost his driver's license somewhere between the Air Train terminal at Newark Airport's Terminal C and the Long Term Parking Garage. After retracing his steps with no success, Scott resigned himself to the prospect of the unpleasant and time-consuming task of replacing his license.
This is where the story becomes interesting. We had just pulled away from the toll booth after paying our parking fee and were getting ready to exit the airport grounds, when I noticed a shadowy figure of a man in the darkness running toward our car. He was frantically waving his arms, and in one hand he had a small white square – Scott's driver's license!
Huffing and puffing, the man explained he was an airport worker and had noticed that Scott dropped his license back in the Air Train terminal. He immediately picked it up and had been trying to catch up with us for the past 20 minutes. With a smile, he gave Scott the license and turned to leave. Of course we called him back to thank him, and insisted on giving him a cash reward as a more tangible expression of appreciation. He gracefully accepted our gesture; but before we could get his name to express appreciation to his management, he vanished just as quickly as he had appeared.
During the drive home, Scott and I reflected on what had just occurred. First, there was the miracle of encountering a stranger who really cared, with no thought of getting a reward other than knowing that he was doing something good for someone else. But in addition to that, it was amazing that he was able to catch up with us at the last moment before we left the airport.
This wasn't an earth-shattering event, but it was an ordinary miracle created by an extraordinary person. Having been inspired by this man, I know I'll be looking for ways to create an ordinary miracle for someone else. Now if we all did that, imagine what would happen…
Have you experienced your own "ordinary miracle?" I invite you to share your story with us.
