Ethical dilemma

A few nights ago we were at Sam's Club and the boy announced he was thirsty. I'd forgotten his water cup so I headed over to the vending machines to get a bottled water. As I stood there digging in my wallet, I saw a man sitting in front of a machine wiggling out several sodas. He had to put in extra effort because 4 of them had come out at once and of course they all were caught since the opening was designed for 1.

My wallet search revealed enough for one drink. I was about to put the money in the water machine when the guy turned around and told me, "Hey, try this one! It gave me 4 when I only wanted 1."

Okay, two dilemmas. 1) I don't give the boy soda, and this was a soda machine. Should I break my own "no soda" rule on the off chance my $1.25 would give me $2.50 or more worth of refreshment? 2) If the machine did, indeed, give me more than one drink, would it be stealing to keep them?

I thought about it for a bit and decided to break the soda rule. There was a diet Cherry Pepsi something that looked yummy so I went for that. I had not yet made a decision on #2 yet but I figured I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

When I need guidance or ask God to show me what to do, He does. It's lovely. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm actually saying it's amazing and comforting to know that when I go to Him I can get pretty clear guidance, whether I like answer or not.

In this case, he showed me he didn't want me taking free sodas from a soda machine. I put in my $1.25 and got....nothing. Broken machine. It wouldn't even return my money. I laughed until I remembered I still had a thirsty child and it was my fault.

Fortunately the guy who had the free sodas immediately offered me one of his, and it was the diet Cherry thing. Yum. The boy liked it, and I did too. I let the boy have enough to unthirst him, took a sip myself, capped it, and headed for the car. Once in the car, the boy had a little more than told me he was done. I set it aside for me and busied myself buckling his car seat.

Here's where God stepped in again. My dear husband got in and was trying to wrench open a blister pack sealing in a flashlight we had just purchased for use in the car. I had put the soda between the front seats near his elbow so I said, "Watch my soda, the lid's not on it." 15 seconds later, with him pulling with all his might, guess what happened? The pack suddenly split open, his elbow flew in a direct connection with my soda, and it poured all over the back seat before I could grab it.

I couldn't help it, I laughed again. Okay, point made. No free sodas for me. That's what I get for asking.