Posted in Encouragement

This past weekend, my husband and I took our four children out for dinner at a favorite restaurant.  We had a nice meal, and the children were fairly well behaved, though we had the occasional behavioral challenge during the meal, especially with our three-year-old daughter.  (Taking several young children out to eat at a restaurant is an interesting experience.  We have learned to ignore the curious glances and blatant stares.  We just go about our business, praying before we eat, keeping our children as quiet and calm as possible.)  As we were finishing eating, out waitress came over to our table.  "Something really nice just happened.  The people that were sitting at that table over there just paid for your meal.  They said your children were so well behaved, and that they missed the days when their own children were young, so they wanted to do something nice for you.  They wanted me to wait to tell you until they had left.  Also, they said to tell you to go ahead and order dessert."  The waitress grinned as she told us this news.

Wow!  That one really shocked us for a minute.  What a wonderfully sweet and generous thing to do.  My husband and I were greatly encouraged by this simple but significant gift.  It is so rare to find that kind of generosity these days.  We were incredibly blessed by this act of kindness--even the children were excited by it.  Later on, after we had left the restaurant, we bowed our head as a family, thanking the Lord for these kind people and asking Him to bless them for it.  We filed it away in our memories, so that some day we may do the same for another young family.

God knows just what we need when we need it.  He knew I needed this bit of encouragement to boost me up in preparation for trials to come.  He knew the children would want to stop at my parents' home to tell them the story, giving us a chance to visit with my father.  The reason this visit was special is because two days later, my father was in the hospital with chest pains.  He is experiencing complications resulting from the bypass surgery he had over a year ago.  It is difficult to see my daddy go through this kind of pain, but God is in control and knows what is best.  Sometimes it is hard to trust, even though I know it is the right thing to do.

God is so good.  His gifts are so abundant.  His grace is always sufficient.  His mercy is new every morning.  His strength is always available.  His love is my sustaining power.  His Spirit is my comfort.  I serve an amazing God who does amazing things.  I couldn't make it through this crazy ride we call life without Him.