Walking into a Krystal Restaurant for breakfast with my husband seemed like an uneventful happening until we sat down to enjoy our eggs, grits, bacon and toast. I noticed a sense of community in the air. Friendly greetings between the staff and the customers; " How are you this morning?" "Good Morning, you're a bit late today." Looking around, I saw several senior citizens were doing solo meals. Alone but in a sense, together.
An elderly gentleman behind me was on his way out. Another man greeted him as he passed by and inquired how he was doing. "I'm doing worse and worse each day." he replied. A list of complaints backed up his proclamation. These two gentlemen had caught not only my eye but now my ears as well. As I continued to listen to the discouragement of the elder gentleman, I was impressed with the encouragement and empathy from the other gentleman. "You need companionship." "Does your family know how you feel?" "I feel lonely like that sometimes. You should come to the Senior Center where I go. It is for people like us." "The good Lord tells us when our days here are done. I still want to be here as long as I can." It was a time of precious sharing between the two. When they were wrapping it up, I stood up and approached them. I confessed I'd overheard their conversation and how they'd been a blessing to me with their sharing and caring. I gave a word of testimony and "God's timing is not our timing. As long as we have breath, we are here for a purpose." I commended the encourager for wise advice and encouraged the discouraged. I walked away from these two gentlemen and an ordinary breakfast with a sense of community too.
Yet, there is another inspiring aspect to this encounter. The discouraged gentleman was white and his encourager was a black gentleman. Obvious diversity in color but even more obvious was the unity of understanding and respect in their hearts. Color blind. We need more color blindness in our lives.
So grateful how the Lord blesses us in the most unexpected way.
