Guy Buys Couch, Finds $43K

But Howard Kirby didn't feel right about it
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 18, 2020 10:30 AM CST

That ottoman seems kinda hard. Let's look inside. That's what a Michigan man thought before his daughter opened up a cushion in a used couch he'd just bought—and found over $43,000, MLive reports. Howard Kirby had paid only $70 for the couch at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Owosso and couldn't believe his good fortune. "I still have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming or something," he told Fox 8. The Ovid resident said he also needed the money to fix his roof and pay off the house, and would have some cash left over. He even contacted a lawyer and found out he could legally keep the money.

But something didn't feel right: "The Holy Spirit just came over me and said, 'No, that’s really not yours,'" said Kirby. So he went back to the ReStore, which contacted the original owner and returned every penny on Thursday. "It's just crazy," said Kim Fauth-Newberry after getting the money back. "It's completely awesome." Turns out the store, which was inundated with furniture at the time, nearly rejected the couch—and the family considered burning it. Now Kirby feels like the lucky one: "I always thought, 'What would I do if that ever happened?'" said the born-again Christian. "Now I know, and it makes me feel good." (More uplifting news stories.)

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