– Monday Muse –
Dear One, sometime ago, Ron, my husband, and I were in Big Rapids with a science teacher, to attend a Rube Goldberg Machine Competition at Ferris State University. Before leaving town, we stopped at a Big Boy Restaurant for a late lunch. There a hostess led us to a booth.
In short time, our orders arrived. Just as our waitress was about to leave, Ron leaned toward her and quietly asked, “We say grace before we eat; would it be alright if we pray for you? Do you have anything that you would like us to pray for?”
Nearly horrified, the teacher, sitting across from us, went pale, stiffened like a rock – making himself inches taller, as he pushed back as far as possible within the booth. His reaction did not surprise me. I reacted the same way the first time I witnessed such a request while having dinner with close friends.
With the waitress’s emotional response, the teacher exhaled, shrunk to his previous height, and drew closer to the table, closer than he had been. That too, was familiar to me. Ahh, yes, I remember it well… relief, and amazement.
The waitress hesitated for a second, her eyes glistened. Then with a demeanor of heartfelt gratefulness she responded, “Yes, I…I… would. I just moved here. I hardly know anyone. I don’t have a place to live. Everything is new to me.” With misty eyes, she left to attend another diner.
Throughout the meal, our waitress was attentive. And, at one point, she spoke of concern for her family. With the check, she thanked us for the prayer.
Before we had finished, a woman who had been in a booth almost across from us, came over and stood beside our table. Her words were, “I saw that. It was incredible. Thank you for doing that, for praying for the waitress. I am going to start doing that.”
The woman left before we could tell her that although it did seem amazing, the waitress’ response was quite common. Our friends have determined that only about 1 out of 25 decline the requests for prayer, maybe not even that many.
The teacher left the restaurant quite amazed, not so much by Ron, the waitress, or the lady patron. No, not by them; he was fascinated by the work of the Holy Spirit through the simple offer of prayer. We all were, and continue to be.
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” Galatians 5:25.
Blessings,
Susanne
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