When small turns out to be big

“It was a couple of weeks before Christmas, and I’d loaded up my car with donations and took them to our local thrift store. Once I dropped off all the bags and made the drive home, I noticed that a brand-new pair of fuzzy pink slippers—I’d gotten as a gift but never worn—had tumbled out and been left behind.

“Groaning, I brought them inside and stashed them in my closet. The thrift store was nearly 30 minutes away, so I didn’t plan on going back anytime soon. Besides, they were extra small. Too tiny for my feet. I doubted many adult women wore that size, anyway.

“The next day, I went to the grocery store and noticed an Angel Tree set up in the lobby with wrapped gifts underneath to go to an area homeless shelter. One of the paper angels had fallen to the floor, so I went to pick it up.

“Before placing it back on the tree, I took a moment to read the wish. It was from a woman who had lost her job and was asking for a warm pair of slippers—size extra small.

Pink is my favorite color,

she’d written. I paused and felt fate at work. With great joy, I went home, wrapped up the slippers and went back to the store.

“As I placed the package beneath the Angel Tree, a store clerk smiled and thanked me. ‘Actually, I’m the thankful one,’ I beamed. Sometimes the unexpected things in life turn into the best gifts of all!”

—Sarah Charles, 52, Rutland, VT