Interesting Day

Good evening and happy Sunday!

One of the blessings of life is that no day is ever the same.  We wake up every day with the opportunity to do great things.  We can choose to change our own lives, or change the lives of someone else.  We have that power, it's whether or not we choose to use it.   It's easy for all of us to forget the extraordinary influence that we have over how events unfold.

We started the day by going to church.  Today we had an especially large and engaged congregation.  The general message is that all of us have "messes" in our lives.  Some of those messes are self-inflicted, while others are thrust upon us.  It was a message that resonated with all of us.  But the great news is that if we have faith, and if we follow that faith and live within that faith, we can have that mess washed away.  Pastor Dave did his usual great job of delivering the message with compassion and humility.  As always, the music was terrific as well.

After the service we got to spend a few minutes with Tyler.  He enjoyed seeing his Mom, sister, and I, along with his Grandma and Grandpa.  We all got hugs and kisses, and he was full of happy vocalizations.  I can't tell you how heartwarming it is to see Tyler each Sunday with such a sunny disposition.  It's our way of reminding him that we are never far away from him, and that we love him every minute of every day.

After church, the 5 of us decided for a late lunch at a chain Italian restaurant.  You know you are in trouble when you are warned as you sit down that the kitchen is slow.  We figured we weren't in a hurry, and we were enjoying each other's company, so a bit of a wait would be no big deal.  An hour later we still didn't have our food.  But we did have a great waitress with a great attitude.  April was honest about what was happening, and was sympathetic to how it was affecting us.  You could tell she was trying to maintain a sense of composure.  I joked with her a little and assured her that we understood.

Finally after about 75 minutes our food arrived.  April let us know that we would be getting some complimentary desserts for our patience.  Robin and her parents enjoyed their meals, while unfortunately you could tell that Sam and I had our dishes rushed, as the pasta noodles were under cooked in some places.  I had to let poor April know that only about half of the pasta was edible.  She gladly took the dishes off of our bill as well.  We told her we felt that this was fine.

She then explained to me that it had been a really rough day.  The worst part for her was that many angry customers take it out on her.  She obviously wanted to do a good job for everyone, she obviously took pride in her job, and there was no good in making her feel bad.  But people did.  She thanked us sincerely for being understanding and having a good time with her.  I could tell it made her feel a little better.  At that moment I appreciated the power of how I could have a positive impact on someone's day.  

We gave her payment for the bill and told her she did a great job.  She returned to the table and said "the Manager zeroed out your bill since you guys were more than patient".  We certainly didn't expect that since some of the meal was just fine.  We thanked April again and made sure she got a nice tip.  I ran into her manager on the way out and praised April for her great service despite the difficult circumstances.

When I reflect on that experience, it really points out to me how important it is that we all treat each other with compassion.  April has ups and downs just like the rest of us.  And when we see that someone is in the middle of a hard situation, we need to go out of our way to ease their burden.  The impact that a stranger can have on another person can be enormous in a good way or a bad way.  I'm going to try to remember every single day that I need to make a positive difference for those I come in contact with.  

We all have incredible power to effect lives, to ease the burden of others, and to show compassion to one another.  Let's never waste the opportunity to use that power!

Be well and God bless.   Tom