Last week, my husband's car was surprisingly broken into in broad daylight, while it was parked in a safe neighbourhood in central London on a busy road with several shops and people walking by. Whenever something like this happens, our first reaction is of course shock when you return to your car, In this case, even moreso, as the staff at the dry cleaners nearby observed the whole incident and came running out to share every detail with him when he returned to his car. Two masked people on cycles came by with a crow bar, smashed his rear window and knew exactly what they were stealing -- his work backpack with his laptop and much more! They must have been watching him when he opened the car boot to remove a bag only 30 minutes before returning back to his car. A passerby tried to stop them and they threatened him with the crow bar so he backed off and then they sped off with their bounty.

The next morning my husband received an email from someone who had found his backpack about 30-40 minutes away from our home in a church garden. My husband was just walking into an important meeting when he received this message, so I canceled my plans and off I went in search of his bag. On my way there, I kept thinking how kind it was of this person to take the time and trouble to go and pick up this random backpack in the bushes, realise that it belonged to someone and wasn't left there intentionally and find contact details inside to try to return it. As I walked to the church from the train station, I was overflowing with gratitude for the person I was about to meet and I decided to pop into a store to buy some small gifts to express our gratitude for this very kind gesture.

When I approached the church, I gave him a quick call to let him know I was there and as I turned the corner I found a very sweet, 40-something year-old man waiting outside on the pavement with a smile while holding my husband's bag. I thanked him again and again for taking the time to get in touch and return the backpack and it was so beautiful to see how he didn't feel he had done anything big or special at all. He said, "I would hope that someone might do the same for me if something like this ever happened. I know there are some people out there who might find something like this and go through it to see what they might keep for themselves. But to me it was so natural to return everything to its rightful owner as I could see there were many personal items including a phone and documents inside." As I gave him the gifts and told him I hoped he enjoyed them with his family, he was surprised and shared his gratitude -- you could see he wasn't expecting anything "in return" for his kindness. We exchanged our goodbyes and I walked away briskly without any time to go through the backpack and see what was inside, as I was rushing to make it back in time to collect my daughter from school and I knew the timing was a little tight.

While approaching the station, I was greeted by a really warm and friendly smile on the face of a young homeless boy sitting on a stool -- he asked if I wanted to buy a Big Issue magazine. He had a lovely, positive, hopeful energy, and as I was in a rush, I smiled back and wished him a good day and kept walking towards the station. After passing him, something just didn't feel quite right and I wanted to do something more -- someone had just done something so kind for us by returning my husband's stolen backpack and I felt called to pay forward this kindness in some small way. In that same moment, I also thought of my 7-year-old daughter, who has been inspired to serve and connect with homeless people the past couple of years and always stops and offers to buy them food. I reflected on what she would do in that moment and I knew I had to go back to see him, putting aside my rush to get back home.

So 20 feet later, I turned around to go and speak with this homeless boy and I asked him if I could buy him lunch, which is my daughter's favourite way to serve people she meets on the streets. He was so delighted and had a huge smile on his face as he accepted my offer. I carried my daughter's spirit of service in my heart with me as I asked him what he would like and then popped into a nearby restaurant to pick up food and drinks for him -- just as she would have done, I even added an extra sandwich for later and topped it off with a sweet treat, a giant, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie :) I returned to gift him the food and a smile card and he was very grateful.

As we said our goodbyes and I crossed the street to head into the train station, my heart felt full. I was so happy that for once, I didn't let my head get in the way of my heart, which was overflowing with gratitude and feeling called to pay forward the love we had received when the first opportunity presented itself. So often, many of us, myself included, notice but don't necessarily act on these little opportunities for a number of reasons whether we're feeling apprehensive, doubting ourselves, or even just feeling rushed to reach somewhere. In this case, I believe that it was my daughter's inspiration that reminded me to tune into that moment and listen to my heart, to feel moved to turn back instead of walking on, as I might have done on many occasions.

Even after all of this, I made it back on the train with enough time to drop off the backpack to my husband at his office and pick up my daughter from school. The universe has a way of responding with grace when we surrender and let go of leading with our heads and listen to our hearts instead. :) It was a joy to share this experience with my daughter when she came home from school that day, and to express my gratitude to her for inspiring me and planting a seed in my heart to follow-through with love in that moment. She was so excited to hear every detail of the story, asking questions along the way, and even reminded me of how I could have stepped it up further by including a handwritten note or drawing filled with love inside the lunch bag before I gifted it to the boy :)

It's so true what they say... “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” -- Angela Schwindt