"They'd be embarrassed so I'll just call it a trade."
Sue Butterfield
Small Things, Huge Results
Sue had given me a large stack of checks to take to our credit union to deposit and the day was slipping away quickly. I was just leaving my office and was on the way to another meeting when I drove past a branch that would allow me to leave the stack of paper. I walked in the building and handed a teller the deposit. I watched as she began the long process of scanning the many checks until she finished. It all seemed so pedestrian. But it wasn't.
The teller handed me one check back and said, "This one won't clear so I won't deposit it. I don't want you to be charged a returned check fee." She made a change to the deposit amount and I accepted the returned check. I left and continued on my way.
When I got home later that night I handed the check to Sue and said, "Out of all of those checks the one that was returned was from one of our friends!"
She took the check in hand and said with a smile, "No need to call them. They'll be so embarrassed and I don't want that to happen. Since they were so kind to us a couple of weeks ago, we'll just call it a trade!"
I stood watching as Sue spoke those words and knew immediately that it was the right thing to do. It was such a small check. But it could have had a large cost to our friendship if not handled with consideration and kindness. Kindness and consideration have much more value than money could ever have. When combined with friendship they are priceless.
There are so many times its easy forget what has real value as we walk through life. Its also easy to take a minute to stop to think about what's of real value in dealing with everyday life situations. Showing consideration is such a small thing with an ability to have a huge impact. If you want to do what appears to be a little thing and also something huge all at once show kindness and consideration. You'll never forget the result and neither will those to whom you show your goodness. Don't let your chance slip away!