Four of us were in Orlando, Florida for yet another National Religious Broadcasters Convention. While having dinner the first evening one of the ladies suggested that we offer to pray for our waiter when he brought us our food. She and her husband did that regularly and it was such a privilege to include the server in the blessing for the food so we decided that was a good idea. And I must admit it did make us feel more spiritual. After all we were at THE NATIONAL RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS CONVENTION and so what better time to be more RELIGIOUS! Our waiter was a cute young man and so after the food was delivered we asked if we could pray for him. His eyes lit up and at once he came up with a prayer need. He had just graduated from Bible College and wanted to be a youth pastor so he needed a job. We were delighted to fill that request and did so with fervency. As the week went on we had more opportunities take prayer requests and it was always heart warming.
We stayed in a lovely hotel that offered breakfast in their deli. Every morning we would stand in line, give our order to the person behind the counter and wait until she dished it up onto paper plates and then we would find a table and enjoy our breakfast. And every morning we were met by the same woman behind the counter. She was cold, unsmiling, seemed slightly irritated no matter how hard we tried to be quick with our orders and just all in all unpleasant. After the first day we decided we would do everything we could to make her our “friend.” And so every morning we graciously greeted her with a cheery “good morning”. We put our order in with great speed and kindness which she did not acknowledge and we thanked her profusely and even complimented her dress and still she was as cold and hard as ice. She never became our F* much less our BFF**.
We left Orlando to drive back home early Friday morning. About the time the sun was coming up we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. The restaurant was empty so the hostess led us to the table of our choice and we began to peruse the menu she had set before us.
About that time a tall, older, angular woman appeared as our waitress. She was abrupt, impatient and had only a few teeth. We ordered coffee and as she left to retrieve it for us we had some unkind words to say about the situation.
“Here we go again”!
“Only this one doesn’t have all of her teeth”
When do you think we will get a really NICE waitress for breakfast?”
I wish I could say that was as bad as it got but it wasn’t. More was said then should have been and none of it kind.
She came back with our coffee and took our order, never a soft word spoken. Ten minutes later she came back with a huge tray filled with food. Plates were passed around and just before she left one of the ladies asked, “Is there anything we can pray for you as we say the blessing?”
And at that moment a most incredible thing happened. Our waitress stopped, turned toward us and with tears in her eyes said, “Oh thank you! You can pray for my husband. He is home dying with Pancreatic cancer, and I need to work to pay the bills and can’t always be with him.”
And with that she stood at the head of our table, head bowed, eyes closed ready to pray with us. We all joined hands and prayed so fervently for this precious woman who we had maligned as her husband was home dying of cancer.
After she left, I struggled to eat. I struggled to keep back the massive amount of tears that wanted to come pouring out of my eyes. I wanted to fall at the feet of Jesus and beg His forgiveness.
After we had finished our breakfast (and it was a fairly silent one as we were all so ashamed of ourselves) our waitress came back with the check. Again as tears welled up in her eyes she thanked us profusely and ended by saying she felt God had sent us to her that morning to encourage her heart and that we had indeed done so.
It was more salt in the wound. Such kindness, such gratitude for us …the sinners.
We emptied all of our money onto the table leaving by far the largest tip I am sure she had ever received. Yet it wasn’t what we had done for her that mattered. It was what she had done for us.
But it does make me wonder about the woman behind the counter at the hotel. Did she have a similar story? Could we not have prayed for her even if there would be no “show” to it, even if she would not have ever known? We didn’t really need for her to like us. We just needed for her to love Jesus. I wish we would have prayed for that.
It all made me see clearly why our Lord insists that we do not judge others. Because we stink at it! We make judgments of those around us by only what we see…the exterior…and we have no idea what life they live, what sorrows they face, what burdens they bear.
It was one of the greatest lessons of my life I will never forget and to this day I am immensely grateful for it.
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not that you be not judged.
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.
*Friend ** Best Friend Forever
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