joy

HE Knows My Name

/ tilson123 / Leave a comment

One of the best things about being back at Chick Fil A is the relationships I have with customers.  During my first employment there (2 1/2 years) I made so many friends who were regular customers.  We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, grandchildren, graduations, and other happy occasions together.  They supported and prayed for me while I was on a mission trip to Nigeria, and when I had surgery.  And unfortunately, I have now even been to the funerals of some of them.

So as I have gotten reaquainted with old friends, I am also making new ones. However, I am 4 1/2 years older, and learning their names doesn’t come NEARLY as easy as it used to.  I had one of them finally slide up to the counter the other day and say, “by the way, my name is Melinda, not Miranda.  Just wanted you to know”.  Sigh.  At least they are patient with me and put up with my failing memory!

The other side of this is learning their particular wants/needs.  No coffee lid for this one, no pickles EVER for that one, etc.  I make a few mistakes here and there, but I am rewarded with awesome smiles and thank you’s when I get it right.  I love serving them, caring about what they want, and making it happen! And when I can’t, I try to be compassionate in saying no.

AND YET!  God, the creator of everything and owner of it all, reminded me that He loves me (John 3:16), knows my name (John 10:3), and knows my wants and needs..except!  He doesn’t have memory issues and does not make mistakes.  He rejoices when He can make my requests happen (Psalm 37:3), and He is there to comfort me when He can’t.  He delights in knowing me, and He is always there to celebrate the victories and milestones, and to walk with me through the dark valleys (Psalm 23:4).  What a blessing to know Him, and to live in the delight of having HIM know my name!

Living Easter Day by Day

/ tilson123 / Leave a comment

10403285_943106499066799_9100973137571227845_n[1]Celebrating Easter yesterday was amazing.  It was joyful, exciting, and had so many beautiful songs of worship and praise.  In my case, it also included watching our young children do their Easter program.  The church was filled with beautiful clothes in pinks, light greens, and all pastel colors in between. It was a sparkling blue day outside, with hardly a cloud after a week of gloomy cloudy weather.

However – our community has lost 3 young people in the last few weeks – a 15 year old and a 19 year old to auto accidents, and a 14 year old to a freak accident on a baseball field where he was hit in the head.  It is always hard to lose that many lives in such a short time, but even more when they were so young. It has sparked a lot of conversation about life and death at work, in our churches, and in our community.  During Spring Break last week, one of our elementary school principals died of a massive heart attack at the age of only 51.  There was a whole school today that was in mourning on a very tough first day back.

Thinking about all this today I could relate to the apostles.  Just after experiencing the unbelievable excitement and wonder of the resurrection of Jesus, they were “left” by Him after 40 days when He ascended to Heaven.  And I am sure their question was the same as mine today – now what??  After all, Resurrection Day for them was filled with awe, relief, and affirmation that Jesus was who He said He was.  And then…they were alone again.  The Holy Spirit was coming, but the physical reassuring presence of Jesus was gone.  AND He left them with the commandmant to take the gospel to the whole world!

We face the same situation today.  The world that watched us celebrate Easter yesterday is still watching.  They want to know how we handle the day after.  They want to know if it really makes a difference in daily life. In my community there are people grieving and trying to go on after major loss, and they want to know how our faith can help them.  They need to know that Jesus is not just there for the good times, but in the tragedies as well.  And WE have been commanded to show them.  My prayer today is that God will be glorified as we share Him in the midst of life after Easter.

Pink Shoes and Ponytails!

/ tilson123 / Leave a comment

One of my favorite parts of being back at Chick Fil A is waiting on the children.  They are always so excited to be there, and you never know what they will say.  Today I had a delightful little girl, around 4 or 5, with these adorable sparkly pink shoes that lit up when she bounced, which was often.  She had a ponytail and a big pink bow on it.  Right after her I had more little girls with pink shoes, and I was surrounded by happy!

I started thinking about how children come in, and approach our counter, and us.  They are very proud to place their own orders, and they are filled with confidence that their order will be heard and filled.  If we don’t serve something – like the pancakes a little boy wanted today – then they are disappointed, but they move on and choose something else.  They have parents hovering nearby, and they know that if something goes wrong, the parent will help them out.  And they ALWAYS want dessert!

I wondered what would happen if I could translate their attitude to my walk with the Lord and especially my prayer life.  While I know prayer should be entered into with reverence, I wonder if sometimes I shouldn’t BOUNCE into God’s presence!  Either overjoyed with blessings, or excited to be there, but definitely with a heart full of joy.  And what if I always came with full confidence?  And with the expectation that my request would be heard and answered, or if the answer was “no”, that an acceptable answer would be made known?  What if I accepted “no” gracefully from the Lord, and then MOVED ON??  I could also try asking for dessert!  I am sure God doesn’t mind when I ask for things that I want sometimes, and not just what I need.

And the best part?  The Scripture says that when we can’t “order” our prayers, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us (Romans 8:26) just like those parents in the background. How awesome! May God help us all to not always be so serious, but to “enter His gates with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:4) – and occasionally a bounce!