Who's Your Waitress?

I know that waitress is kind of a loaded term, but "server" didn't quite have the same pizazz when plugged into the title of this post. Regardless, the question is still a good one. When you sit down at a restaurant to enjoy a nice meal, who is taking care of you? What are they like? Are they happy? Are they going through something difficult? Are they in need?

Over a month ago, Terri, the kids and I were eating at one of our favorite restaurants (and by favorite I mean a restaurant where kids eat free at night). Our server was a girl who looked completely familiar to us. After chatting with her a bit it became obvious we had never met, but we had a nice talk. When it was time to pay the bill, Terri and I looked at each other knowing that we had to do something special.

You see, God dropped her right on our hearts. Over the course of our conversation, she told us that she normally doesn't work nights and it was just dumb luck that she helped us that night. Dumb luck or divine providence. We clearly felt God leading us to reach out to her, so we gave her a huge tip (mandatory if you are trying to share Christ with your server, and just a good practice as a Christian in general) and left her a note with our contact info inviting her to church. Before we left, Terri personally invited her to Eagle Creek and told her we were looking forward to seeing her again.

Last week, we went back and asked to be seated in her section. She remembered us and was very friendly. We asked how she was doing and talked about what was going on in her life. Then she told us that she had something to show us. She opened up her little book, rifled through the pages of receipts and order slips and from the back of the stack pulled out the little note we had left her. She had kept it.

She hasn't come to church with us yet, but we are hoping that Easter Sunday is the day. We look forward to taking her out to lunch afterward and seeing what God is doing in her heart. He has a plan for her, and he chose to use us to draw her to him. It is both a huge responsibility and very humbling, and we have been praying that God gets ahold of her the way he has gotten ahold of us and changes her life.

Next time you go out to eat, think about the people who are taking care of you. God may be asking you to take care of them.