Lost gift cards, the library, and Jesus!

Oh my goodness, you guys. I got a call from my local public library this week. Now, anytime the library calls me personally, my first thought is: This cannot be good.

Because I had recently returned a book that was...how shall we say this? Overdue. Not “Oops, I meant to return that Tuesday” overdue. More like “Perhaps the library has begun to assume I have added this title to my personal collection” overdue.

So when I saw the library calling, I was prepared to repent. Instead, the woman on the phone said, “We found something inside the book you returned.” Oh no. What did I use as a bookmark? A grocery list? A receipt? A sermon note? Something embarrassing? Nope.

A $50 gift card! FIFTY DOLLARS.

Apparently, at some point, I had slipped a $50 gift card inside this library book, forgotten all about it, and then returned the whole thing. I didn't even know it was missing. And here's the part that got me: Someone found it and turned it in.

They didn't pocket it. They didn't say, “Well, look how the Lord has provided!” 😂 They turned it in. And because the library didn't know when I might come back for it, they put my little gift card IN THE SAFE. THE SAFE!

Meanwhile, I am wandering through life completely oblivious that I have assets being protected in a secure location at the public library. When she told me, I was genuinely shocked. And weirdly moved.

Because we hear so many stories about people behaving badly. About dishonesty and selfishness and people doing whatever benefits them.

But somewhere in my town, someone found $50 that would have been incredibly easy to take. And they didn't. Nobody would have known.

Except them. And God.

Integrity is one of those quiet forms of faithfulness that doesn't usually get much attention. There is no applause for returning the gift card. No Instagram post. No award ceremony at the library.

(Although I would absolutely attend the Library Integrity Awards.)

It's simply choosing what is right when you could easily choose otherwise. And maybe that's one of the most beautiful ways our faith becomes visible. Not just in the big decisions. But in the tiny moments when nobody else is watching. Returning the extra change. Putting something back where it belongs. Admitting the mistake. Giving credit to someone else.

Doing the right thing even when doing the wrong thing would be easier—and probably go completely unnoticed.

Jesus forms something in us when we practice faithfulness in secret. Character. And character is built in thousands of little choices that most people will never see. But God does.

This Week’s Faith Habit

Return Something.

Here's your faith habit this week: Find one thing that isn't where it belongs—and return it. Maybe it's something you've borrowed and forgotten to give back. A book. A casserole dish. A sweater. A tool. The Tupperware that has apparently become a permanent member of your household.

Maybe it's something at work that belongs in another room. Maybe it's a shopping cart sitting loose in the parking lot. Maybe you notice something someone dropped. Don't just think, Someone should take care of that. Be the someone.

Pick it up. Put it back. Return it. And as you do, let that tiny physical action become a prayer:

Jesus, make me faithful with what isn't mine.

Because following Jesus isn't only formed in sanctuaries and Bible studies. Sometimes it happens in a parking lot. Sometimes it happens when nobody is watching.

And apparently, sometimes it happens between the pages of a very overdue library book containing fifty bucks.

And if the library calls you? Answer. Apparently, they may have money for you. 😂