Imagine the excitement of opening an Instant Pot only to find an added surprise inside ... a wedding ring!
Well, that's exactly what happened to one Washington state woman who opened a brand-new Instant Pot on Christmas morning. When she took the packaging out of the box, she found not only her prized appliance but a wedding ring. But, no, she didn't turn around to see a person on one knee asking for her hand in marriage (though that would make for another heartwarming story). The ring actually belonged to someone else.
Not sure what to do, Shiloah Avery of Port Orchard, Washington, first tried calling the manufacturer of the Instant Pot but was issued a support ticket. Rather than wait, she decided to post her discovery on a local Facebook page.
By Christmas evening, she heard back from the ring's owner, JoAnn Johnson, also of Port Orchard, and was able to verify it belonged to her after she sketched a drawing of the ring for Avery. The ring was returned just days before Johnson's 20th wedding anniversary and a planned celebratory cruise.
Johnson reacted with great joy upon getting her ring back and called Avery "such an honest person."
So how in the world did the ring end up in the box in the first place?
Johnson said she and her husband were shopping for an Instant Pot at Walmart. They wanted to see one of the smaller ones, but there was not one on display so they opened a box to have a look. That's when she believes the ring fell off.
She discovered it missing about 15 minutes later, and after retracing her steps and even using a flashlight to check under shelves, they came up empty-handed. They notified customer service and posted to a local Facebook page as well but "had totally given up hope of ever finding it," she said.
"For Shiloah to find a ring and reach out in all the ways she could think of makes her an exceptional person to me," Johnson told TODAY Food via Facebook. "She is my Christmas angel. And having become friends with her through all this, she really IS a sweetheart with a good heart!"
A Christmas miracle, for sure — and the best Christmas gift she could have imagined.
Ali Gostanian contributed reporting.