George

“You are wonderful, I just want you to know that.”  The biggest, most brilliant smile took over his face as he responded, “Thank you, miss.  I appreciate that.”  The exchange itself seemed simple enough.  No one would ever detect all of the nervous anxiety and embarrassment I had to overcome to stop our server George on his way back to the kitchen just to say those ten words to him.  But I couldn’t not say them because they were true, he was wonderful.  And he made a significant impact on my perspective.

Throughout our breakfast, I was taken with the way that George interacted with his world and the people in it.  He was genuinely welcoming and very polite to every person that he encountered, co-workers and customers alike.  It also stood out to me that he was older than most of the servers or staff we usually meet at a Disneyland resort restaurant.  I found myself wondering how he ended up in that line of work and at that specific location.  It wasn’t until I found the courage to speak to George that I realized how presumptuous it was of me to assume that he had “ended up” there or anywhere.

“Your demeanor and attitude is so positive.  And you seem to truly love what you do.” He replied, “I do, I love what I do.”  I asked how long he had been working there and he said, “I’ve been at this restaurant for eleven years and I also work at Napolini.  I’ve been there even longer, about thirteen years.  This place has been good to me.  It’s given me the opportunity to make a life for myself, to raise my family.”

Perhaps because I so often find myself starved for gratitude and humility from day to day, my eyes immediately welled up with tears.  I felt the contentment in this man’s heart and was blessed by his willingness to share even a little bit of it with me.  I paused to examine my own heart and the assumptions I had made about George prior to our three-minute conversation.  And I recognized that I often allow opportunities like this to escape me because I’m wrapped up in my own preoccupations.  This particular day was no exception.

I’d be lying if I said that my outlook was positive on the morning that I met George.  But my encounter with him convicted my heart and replaced my jaded perspective with gratefulness.  I knew that I was exactly where God wanted me to be that day.  All of the noise and traffic around me didn’t matter because God had designed a quiet moment to recapture my gaze and bring my focus back to Him.  Only the Creator of love, life, humanity, and relationships could drown out the distractions of a bitter world to make space for such an unexpected, meaningful connection.  I could see that my reaching out blessed George, and without question, his response affected me.  But I would be foolish to think that I created any of it.

People often have a negative view of submission and obedience but God’s truth reveals that when we submit our own will and obey Him, He creates beauty from ashes.  His intentions and desires for our lives are far greater than what we could dream for ourselves.  This doesn’t mean that when we face hardships God is absent.  Instead, those experiences of suffering and the outcomes point to His eternal presence and willingness to refine us.  George may not know it but he served as a vessel of the Lord that morning and his story was beautifully woven into my own.  His gratitude was contagious, and I’m so glad God positioned me to catch it.