a storm with a blessing

The little church I grew up in sang a hymn that occasionally comes to mind -- "showers of blessings."

And we have plenty of days where that could be the theme music. But some days are perfect storms. Today just may be both. I hope.

The best acts of charity are anonymous -- where the giver and the recipient are unaware of the provenance of the giving. At least, that is true for me. I always feel a bit tawdry about talking about my giving. But I cannot tell this tale without a bit of bad manners.

For the past month, several groups have been providing food bags, hot meals, and food vouchers to people who have lost their income due to the early departure of northern tourists and the closure of the beaches over semana santa. All of that food appears to be given to good ends.

I have a somewhat different take, and living here gives me the luxury to do something about. There is no food distribution problem here. The problem is one of revenue interruption. Tourists are not paying merchants for float toys who then are not paying grocers for tomatoes who are not paying their rent. Money is not being circulated.

Having lived here long enough, I know a long list of families who have been directly impacted by the loss of tourism revenue. Because there are more than enough groups handing out food, I decided to shut down the meal program at my house in favor of giving cash directly to people who need it.

Today I gathered together my bank cards to visit each ATM and teller to accumulate as many pesos as I could. I was then going to distribute those funds over the week.

I never have all of those cards together in one place outside of the house. Ever. Because bad things can happen. Losing all of them would mean my financial lifeline would be crimped.

Some of you already know what comes next in this story. I had put all of the cash from my trek in my billfold. The total does not matter, but it was substantial. Substantial enough that my billfold would no longer fold.

On my way back from the bank, I stopped at Hawaii for some ingredients for tonight's dinner. I paid the bill out of my billfold -- and that is the last time I saw it. Somewhere between Hawaii and my car, my billfold must have slipped out of my pocket.

The loss of the money does not bother me. That money was no longer mine. I was just a custodian until I could deliver it to the families on my list.

I hope whoever picked up the billfold will put the money to good use. For all I know, it was found by someone who has been praying for deliverance from financial hardship. Even if that is not the case, that money goes with blessings.

The more difficult problem is the lost bank cards. Up until a year ago, that loss would mean I would be without financial resources until the banks could get cards to me. But I now have an account at Intercam that is my primary revenue stream. Even though I do need to get a new bank card there, as well.

Then there are the identity cards. My driver's license. My military identification. My visa. The first is on its way. The second will have to wait until I am in The States. The third I will deal with tomorrow.

So, it was both the perfect storm -- and, I hope, showers of blessing for whoever found the money.