Okay... so this is probably the first blog entry I've created in months, but what happened today over breakfast seemed be enough of an event to motivate me to let out some creativity. So here goes...
So at first today seemed like a typical Saturday. Nothing too out of the ordinary. I'm not really much of a list maker or "planner" when it comes to my weekends, let alone much of the rest of my regular routine throughout the week. I had a few things that I wanted to accomplished before I headed over to help move a large piece of furniture at my parent's place at around noon. So I popped some clothes in the washing machine, grabbed my Dad's palm sander (which I had borrowed months ago) to return to him for a project that he needed it for at their place, and headed over to my favorite local restaurant in Nampa. The LeBaron's Honker.
If you're local to the Nampa area, and you haven't eaten there, you've at least heard of the place. It's a "Mom & Pop" restaurant, that has, in my humble opinion, the best breakfast and THE best restaurant coffee in the valley. I honestly can and often do, drink it by the pot-full.
As I drove down 2nd Street approaching Honkers, I was blessed with the luck of getting a parking space right in front of the place. Although, this was a stroke of luck, finding a place to sit my hungry self down to eat, would prove to be a much harder task. I opened the front door to find the place quite busy and loud. The clanging of dishes and silverware filled the room and giving heed to my ears that the place was busier that normal. As I surveyed the main room, I was not able to see a comfortable place for a "party of one" to sit and enjoy breakfast at 10 am. I meandered over to the banquet hall room only to find more of the same sort of environment.
After returning to the entry way, I glanced at the large sign that greets you as you enter. It reads "Feel free to seat yourself". I thought to myself "I wish....". But of course, this was not going to be a possibility at this moment in time. Being that this was the case, I pulled out my smart phone and decided to waste a few minutes surfing the net, checking email, and looking over my various friend's Facebook status'. I glanced up every once in a while to see if a seat might have magically opened up while I had my nose in my phone ignoring the world around me. But every time I looked up, the scenery had failed to change. The booths around the edges as well as the tables that filled the center of the room were still occupied.
I struck up a conversation with a small group who had just come in. I made the comment that "It's probably going to be easier for you guys to find a seat than it will be for me being by myself". They chuckled and then their daughter pointed out that it looked like there was an open seat over at the bar. To my surprise, there surely was an open seat. I immediately wound my way through the tables in the middle of the room towards the bar. As I got close to the bar, I politely asked a lady who looked to be in her middle 30's if the seat next to her was open. She dashed my hopes by stating that it wasn't and that her husband would be returning. "Darn it" I thought to myself. Now I had to do an about face and return back to the entryway to retain my spot and wait again.
As I headed back to the door. I looked to my right and saw an elderly woman, probably in her 80's sitting by herself. She had her face down, intently devouring a plate of hash browns, with ham and eggs. For a split second I debated as to whether I should keep walking or be brave and ask her if I could sit there with her. My impending hunger and growling stomach helped me make this decision pretty quickly. I approached her gingerly and asked her if I could take a seat. She responded "What!?". From her response, I could tell that she was having trouble hearing me, either due to her age, or just the loud sound level in the restaurant. So I repeated myself, but this time a little louder. "Is this seat taken? Do you mind if I join you?" To this, she responded, "No, no, go ahead".
So I sat down. She was already at least half way through her breakfast. I took off my jacket, hung it over the back of my chair and took a seat. The waitress plopped a menu in front of me and asked me quickly if I'd like anything to drink to get me started. I affirmed that I'd "love to have some coffee, thanks." As she left our table, I pulled out my phone again and decided to check back in online and not bother the kind lady who had allowed me to step away from the "starving lobby/entryway" and join her with the rest of the satisfied eaters in the restaurant.
I began looking over some things on Facebook
You see, I'm really big on local history, especially in regards to my hometown and the establishments in the surrounding areas. As the conversation continued to develop, Janice (as she eventually gave me her name) told me about the struggles that her granddaughter had encountered in her life. She told me about how she'd come from a divorced family, a verbally abusive mother from a non-Christian faith, and so on and so on.
But then she started sharing a story line that was eerily similar to mine. She shared about how God had opened the doors for her granddaughter to be able to go to the Christian university of her choice. About how the Lord had, in her granddaughter's elementary years, provided protection over her and even helped lead her and her granddaughter to find the church in which they now attend and feel at home in.
I was realizing as Janice shared, that the story that she was sharing. The providence that had been given to her, and her granddaughter, was the same love that God has poured out over me. Over and over again, He's provided miracles and gifts to me when I least expected them, and at times when I've directly prayed for them. But over and over again, I've forgotten those gifts, those miracles, those "aha moments" of seeing a glimpse of the love of my Heavenly Father.
As Janice, continued to share, this stranger, this woman who seemed to have looked so lonely and depressed, and a bit disheveled, honestly began to glow with so much joy and radiance in her voice and on her face that you could truly see the love of Jesus just overflowing in her heart. In response to this, I began to really have a sense that today was not just a "regular Saturday". I believe that today's moment at the restaurant was a moment that God had scheduled for me. It wasn't church. It wasn't a Bible study. It wasn't a course in theology. It was just a real moment of sharing with a fellow believer, our testimonies about our loving Heavenly Father and how He has provided for us.
I look forward to experiencing what I did today sometime soon.....
So at first today seemed like a typical Saturday. Nothing too out of the ordinary. I'm not really much of a list maker or "planner" when it comes to my weekends, let alone much of the rest of my regular routine throughout the week. I had a few things that I wanted to accomplished before I headed over to help move a large piece of furniture at my parent's place at around noon. So I popped some clothes in the washing machine, grabbed my Dad's palm sander (which I had borrowed months ago) to return to him for a project that he needed it for at their place, and headed over to my favorite local restaurant in Nampa. The LeBaron's Honker.
If you're local to the Nampa area, and you haven't eaten there, you've at least heard of the place. It's a "Mom & Pop" restaurant, that has, in my humble opinion, the best breakfast and THE best restaurant coffee in the valley. I honestly can and often do, drink it by the pot-full.
As I drove down 2nd Street approaching Honkers, I was blessed with the luck of getting a parking space right in front of the place. Although, this was a stroke of luck, finding a place to sit my hungry self down to eat, would prove to be a much harder task. I opened the front door to find the place quite busy and loud. The clanging of dishes and silverware filled the room and giving heed to my ears that the place was busier that normal. As I surveyed the main room, I was not able to see a comfortable place for a "party of one" to sit and enjoy breakfast at 10 am. I meandered over to the banquet hall room only to find more of the same sort of environment.
After returning to the entry way, I glanced at the large sign that greets you as you enter. It reads "Feel free to seat yourself". I thought to myself "I wish....". But of course, this was not going to be a possibility at this moment in time. Being that this was the case, I pulled out my smart phone and decided to waste a few minutes surfing the net, checking email, and looking over my various friend's Facebook status'. I glanced up every once in a while to see if a seat might have magically opened up while I had my nose in my phone ignoring the world around me. But every time I looked up, the scenery had failed to change. The booths around the edges as well as the tables that filled the center of the room were still occupied.
I struck up a conversation with a small group who had just come in. I made the comment that "It's probably going to be easier for you guys to find a seat than it will be for me being by myself". They chuckled and then their daughter pointed out that it looked like there was an open seat over at the bar. To my surprise, there surely was an open seat. I immediately wound my way through the tables in the middle of the room towards the bar. As I got close to the bar, I politely asked a lady who looked to be in her middle 30's if the seat next to her was open. She dashed my hopes by stating that it wasn't and that her husband would be returning. "Darn it" I thought to myself. Now I had to do an about face and return back to the entryway to retain my spot and wait again.
As I headed back to the door. I looked to my right and saw an elderly woman, probably in her 80's sitting by herself. She had her face down, intently devouring a plate of hash browns, with ham and eggs. For a split second I debated as to whether I should keep walking or be brave and ask her if I could sit there with her. My impending hunger and growling stomach helped me make this decision pretty quickly. I approached her gingerly and asked her if I could take a seat. She responded "What!?". From her response, I could tell that she was having trouble hearing me, either due to her age, or just the loud sound level in the restaurant. So I repeated myself, but this time a little louder. "Is this seat taken? Do you mind if I join you?" To this, she responded, "No, no, go ahead".
So I sat down. She was already at least half way through her breakfast. I took off my jacket, hung it over the back of my chair and took a seat. The waitress plopped a menu in front of me and asked me quickly if I'd like anything to drink to get me started. I affirmed that I'd "love to have some coffee, thanks." As she left our table, I pulled out my phone again and decided to check back in online and not bother the kind lady who had allowed me to step away from the "starving lobby/entryway" and join her with the rest of the satisfied eaters in the restaurant.
I began looking over some things on Facebook
You see, I'm really big on local history, especially in regards to my hometown and the establishments in the surrounding areas. As the conversation continued to develop, Janice (as she eventually gave me her name) told me about the struggles that her granddaughter had encountered in her life. She told me about how she'd come from a divorced family, a verbally abusive mother from a non-Christian faith, and so on and so on.
But then she started sharing a story line that was eerily similar to mine. She shared about how God had opened the doors for her granddaughter to be able to go to the Christian university of her choice. About how the Lord had, in her granddaughter's elementary years, provided protection over her and even helped lead her and her granddaughter to find the church in which they now attend and feel at home in.
I was realizing as Janice shared, that the story that she was sharing. The providence that had been given to her, and her granddaughter, was the same love that God has poured out over me. Over and over again, He's provided miracles and gifts to me when I least expected them, and at times when I've directly prayed for them. But over and over again, I've forgotten those gifts, those miracles, those "aha moments" of seeing a glimpse of the love of my Heavenly Father.
As Janice, continued to share, this stranger, this woman who seemed to have looked so lonely and depressed, and a bit disheveled, honestly began to glow with so much joy and radiance in her voice and on her face that you could truly see the love of Jesus just overflowing in her heart. In response to this, I began to really have a sense that today was not just a "regular Saturday". I believe that today's moment at the restaurant was a moment that God had scheduled for me. It wasn't church. It wasn't a Bible study. It wasn't a course in theology. It was just a real moment of sharing with a fellow believer, our testimonies about our loving Heavenly Father and how He has provided for us.
I look forward to experiencing what I did today sometime soon.....
