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Pay It Forward

Posted on March 15, 2008November 30, 2019 by Scott Couchenour

My daughter brought 10 of her friends home with her from college. You heard it: 10 BFFs! Here’s a picture of our living room this morning.100_3860

They went to breakfast this morning at our local dutch restaurant.  When they returned, every single one of them was talking a mile a minute.  They couldn’t wait to share what happened at the restaurant.

Turns out, when the waitress brought all their bills, a lady sitting close by came over to their table and took all the bills.  She shared how the girls were the future of the world and to keep Christ at the center of their lives.  She paid their bills AND put a $30 tip on the table!

But the most encouraging thing about this is that each of the girls are now planning how they can take the money they were going to spend on breakfast and find ways to "pay it forward" to someone else.

I don’t know who the lady is, but how about that for everydaygiving?!

Scott Couchenour, Certified Life Coach (Promoting Ministry Balance)

www.servingstrong.com    www.servingstrong.typepad.com

16 thoughts on “Pay It Forward”

  1. Roger Carr says:
    March 15, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    Scott,
    Thanks for sharing the story. This is a perfect example of us not knowing the full impact we have when we give. That generous lady may believe she encouraged the group of young people. She doesn’t know that her action is being repeated by every on of them (and maybe repeated again by ones they help, etc.). I believe it also says something great about the parents and mentors of these girls that they are wanting to give as well. Great job.

    Reply
  2. Scott Couchenour says:
    March 15, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Thanks Roger. The really cool thing is that each of these girls has their own Facebook account. We were talking about the great number of unique friends each of them has and if they talked about the incident on Facebook, just how many MORE people would be influenced by the simple act of one lady and $100.

    Reply
  3. Brennan Kingsland says:
    March 15, 2008 at 6:57 pm

    I had a nice man stop and help me with a flat tire. When I tried to pay him for his assistance, he told me he’d prefer that I help someone else in he future. Talk about paying it forward.

    Reply
  4. Mark McCullagh says:
    March 15, 2008 at 9:43 pm

    What an inspiring story.

    That small gesture really touched the lives of those young people.

    I also admire how the lady advised the girls to keep Christ at the center of their lives. Acting from the spirit in a selfless manner can have profound effects on others’ lives, not only our own.

    Reply
  5. ImaNicePerson says:
    March 15, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    Great story!!! The impact of this kind woman’s generosity will multiply exponentially when the girls “Pay it forward” to others. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  6. eyloni says:
    March 16, 2008 at 2:49 am

    Great story. I hope you would actually post at some point a follow up with what they actually did with it. Would be inspiring to see the actual ripple spreading out.

    Reply
  7. Marianne McEachern says:
    March 16, 2008 at 6:13 am

    That is a GREAT story, hope I am in a position to do something like that for someone some day!!

    Reply
  8. Scott Couchenour says:
    March 16, 2008 at 9:00 am

    Marianne, Actually the key thing about this is… you don’t have to wait for being in a position to do something. For this lady, it was a $100 investment – and look at the wide-sweeping impact! But I think it can also be a powerful thing to invest even $10, or a free act of kindness for someone, or maybe even just spending time with someone who needs a friend.

    Reply
  9. Darlene Norris says:
    March 16, 2008 at 9:52 am

    How inspiring! You don’t know how far it will go when you do something nice for somebody. I try to lend people a hand whenever I can, and I tell them the same thing–help somebody else, and you’ll pay me back!

    Reply
  10. Hank Derofinga says:
    November 23, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    Man that story touched me. It is so nice that there are people like that in the world that can influence others in such a positive manner….it is just too bad there is no such thing as Christ. The message is just as powerful without it.

    Reply
  11. Femke says:
    August 5, 2009 at 6:36 am

    Wow cool story! It really creates energy when such things bring about positive movement. I have a good suggestion how the girls can pay the good deed forward: By pLaying it forward on pifworld.com

    Visitors of Pifworld build a community where you can actually make follow up of good deeds visible: so that everyone can see who joined and track the chain of good deeds in a worldwide movement!

    check out http://www.pifworld.com

    Reply
  12. Brian says:
    May 8, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    Great article Scott- found this surfing around for PIF stories. I wonder, what became of this story? You might consider checking out http://www.foyble.com – there are tools there to help track and inspire acts of good will.

    Reply
  13. Scott Couchenour says:
    May 8, 2010 at 11:15 pm

    Thanks Brian. The girls still look back and are amazed at how it all played out. It was no doubt a high point of learning along the journey of life. They will likely take the learning into their chosen careers.

    Thanks for the link. Are you familiar with the Facebook group, 365 Club? Or http://www.raktrak.com? Also good sights regarding random kindness and giving.

    God bless!

    Reply
  14. Brian says:
    May 18, 2010 at 7:56 am

    What great inspiration! Have you ever heard of foyble? it alows you to track your impact in the world in just the way you’re talking about here. I’ve liked to it in the appropriate way in the event you’re interested.

    Reply
  15. Lecia says:
    December 23, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    I love that story. What an uplifting experience for those girls, and I’m sure for their “angel” as well. Keep it up out there!

    Reply
  16. Tim Peters says:
    April 25, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    Well, what a great act of kindness. Many Americans would take the extra money and spend it on frivolous things. I am glad the movie Pay it Forward is actually inspiring others to put the idea into action. One person can not change the world. However, if everyone were to work together to help others, the world would be a better place.

    Reply

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