Yesterday afternoon, after taking care of various teaching and administrative duties , my colleague friend and I headed over to a local, high-end barbecue place . Since my spouse wouldn't be home until 10:15 after teaching his evening class, I decided to have an early dinner. My friend had a coupon for a free appetizer, so we shared a smoked fish dip.
It comes with tortilla chips, but my friend is trying to watch her carb intake. She asked if she could have celery or cucumber to go with it.
The bartender who was waiting on us said that she would see what she could do. But the only vegetable they had was carrots.
She brought us a beautiful plate of carrots. Later we found out that she had peeled and sliced them herself.
She said her boss had said, "Why are you doing that? Now they'll expect that the next time they come."
She replied, "And if I'm working, I'll peel carrots again."
Of course, one of the reasons that we return to the restaurant is because of the level of care shown by that particular bartender.
I thought about her attitude, which she's displayed even before we got to know her. She's always been warm and welcoming, like we're her best friends who just walked in the door. She's always made sure the glasses are filled and that the food is good. She goes the extra mile by peeling the carrots.
What would life be like if we all showed that level of care?
It would be much closer to the world that God desires for us all.
The peeling of carrots is not traditionally thought of as a spiritual gift, but done with the right spirit, it can be an important one--an aspect of the all-important spiritual gift of hospitality.
thinking too hard
4 years ago
No comments:
Post a Comment