Slice of Life: March 9 -- Being a Blessing

I must admit that I wasn't thrilled when my husband suggested a particular restaurant when we were on our way to dinner a few nights ago.  It wasn't that the food didn't sound good, but it was more because I'm trying to watch what I eat and this particular restaurant was going to tempt me to eat all the things I'm trying to avoid.  Nonetheless, I gave in and agreed to do my best to find something somewhat healthy on the menu.

When we sat down, I bypassed all the delicious, calorie infused items such as pancakes and french toast and opted for one of the healthier items with a little green leaf next to it.  Our waiter introduced himself, took our order, and quickly returned with our drinks.  Being thirsty, I emptied my glass of tea in only a few minutes, at which time, our waiter returned with another full glass.  Within minutes that glass was halfway empty, at which time our waiter returned yet again with another full glass.  Our food arrived quickly, and our waiter delivered it with a smile, asking if we needed anything, and provided us with extra napkins.

I've been to lots of restaurants and I have had lots of good waiters, but there was something about this particular waiter that caught my attention.  We weren't spending a lot of money on our dinner, so he wasn't working hard for a hefty tip.  He had several other tables that included more than just two people, yet he paid such attention to my husband and me.  He was extremely polite, very personable, and he practically ran from one task to another.

When he dropped off our check, my husband asked me the normal question he poses when paying our bill: "What should we leave for a tip?"  At that point, we both had the idea to bless our waiter with a nice tip instead of our normal fifteen percent.  Granted, it wasn't a huge tip, but it was much more than I'm sure he expected, especially when considering the price of our meal.  My husband wrote down the tip, signed his name to the receipt, I wrote a note at the bottom thanking our waiter for his excellent service, and then we left the table.  I must admit, we walked to the parking lot and stood where we could watch through the window as our waiter read the message and saw our tip.  He stood there for several seconds reading the receipt, and I can only hope that we made his night just a little better.

The truth is, our waiter made my night better.  Not just because he provided excellent service, but mostly because I had the opportunity to bless someone else with a little extra tip and an encouraging note.  I had an obvious smile on my face as I got in my car and drove away from the restaurant.  Boy, it feels good to be a blessing to someone else.

So many people have blessed me in my life.  I have been on the receiving end of a nice comment, a thoughtful note, or more simply, a much needed smile or hug.  The side of my filing cabinet in my office contains notes, cards, and positive comments others have given me during the year.  When I get frustrated or down on myself, I look at those notes and remember the positive things I'm doing and how blessed I am to have people in my life who take the time to tell me thank you or that they appreciate me.

Our school just completed the Great Kindness Challenge a few weeks ago.  My challenge to you at the end of that week was to continue to be intentional about being kind to others.  My hope was that you would seek out opportunities to be a blessing to someone else.  My wish was that you would live your life in a way that others see kindness reflected in all you do.  Well, I guess I needed that reminder myself this week.  In truth, this past week was challenging, and there were lots of times that I became frustrated and overwhelmed.  It's amazing how much better I felt when I stopped thinking about my frustrations and instead took time to show kindness to someone else.

So that's my challenge to you again.  Look for an opportunity to bless someone this week.  Do something out of kindness, perhaps for someone that least expects it.  Who knows?  You might just make their day and your day, too!