I’ve been cleaning out some clutter this weekend. I started with my guest room closet, which was appalling, and ended with my kitchen desk drawers, which were forever getting hung on things too large to have been put there in the first place.

Among the errant packing tape and the misplaced screwdrivers, I found this:

You may be wondering why in the world I not only would’ve kept a business card with change taped to it, but why I would even have it in the first place! Well, let me tell you.

A couple of years ago, I did some proofing for a book publisher in Iowa. I had finished working on a manuscript and sent my time-sheet, along with some other documentation, in for payment via US Postal Service, as they required that over electronic submission. Apparently, I put too much postage on the envelope – 40 cents worth, to be exact. About two weeks later, I received a letter telling me as much, and the enclosure of this business card covered in change.

I marked out the gal’s name, as I have no idea if she still works there and I don’t have her permission to put it out to the masses. Regardless of her name, however, it speaks volumes about her character. I kept it all that time ago, because I wanted to show it to my girls as an example of integrity and honesty. I wanted them to see that in this dog-eat-dog, take-what-you-can-get world, there are still people out there living by a higher standard of ethics, a moral code that puts other people first, and where service still means something. I wanted them to know that there are still people out there that would take time to type out a letter, tape change to a business card and spend money for a stamp, just to send me back the amount that it cost to cover it.

In the midst of the cynicism in which we live, the daily reports of cheating, embezzlement and fraud, I send you a little encouragement and faith restoration today. There are still honest, hardworking people in our world with integrity, ethics and character. Hopefully, we all claim to be one of them, but MORE, I hope we are all doing these little “extra mile” things to show it.