Because of Jesus

I forgot to pack my lunch. Scheduled to have a lunch meeting with the junior class officers in thirty minutes, I decided to make a quick trip to Panera, one of my favorite sandwich shops. Ordinarily, I would call ahead and place my order so that it would be waiting for me. However, since it was 11:00 a.m., I thought it safe to just show up. Boy, was I was wrong.

As I approached the shop, I read a sign taped to each door. “We are currently experiencing difficulty with our computer system. Unfortunately, you will be unable to use credit/debit cards today, or take advantage of our wifi system. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

I hesitated for a moment to make sure I had cash and headed to the line. It was a little long, but there appeared to be three cashiers working, so experience told me it would move fairly quickly. Boy, was I wrong.

After investing ten minutes in that line, and becoming increasingly uncomfortable because it did not appear to be moving, it became apparent to me that the problem they were experiencing was not limited to credit cards and wifi. I watched as one customer after another, paid cash for his food, took the pager from the employee, left the checkout line, and ambled toward the pick-up line, only to return minutes later to complain that his order was taking too long.

One gentleman with a thick accent started quite a ruckus. I first noticed him when he returned to the order line, cut in front of the next customer up and said, “I still have not received my order, and people who were in line after me got theirs.” “What did you order sir?” the cashier politely asked. He gave his order to the man again, who, failing to find it on the computer system, ran over to those making sandwiches and called the order out to them.

He ran back to his post at the register and proceeded to take another order as the increasingly agitated man paced from the register to the check-out area. Every few seconds he would yell something in the direction of the employees behind the counter. However, having discovered that the pagers were not working properly either, they were literally running from the register to the check-out area to give the orders to the sandwich makers. Finally, he yelled, “I want to see the manager!”

With his accent, he was a little difficult to understand, so had to repeat himself twice before one of the frantic employees stopped what he was doing and headed to the back to find the manager.

In the meantime, his order was filled and handed to him as he yelled, “It is too late! My lunch break is over! I have to go back to work!” As he headed toward the door he yelled over his shoulder, “I will be back this afternoon, and I expect to see the manager!”

By this time, I had invested 25 minutes in the line and had inched my way toward the front so that there was only one person ahead of me. I couldn’t help but smile as I approached the young man who had just been berated in front of everyone by that angry customer. As our eyes met and he saw my smile, I watched as his face visibly relaxed. He took my order, and as I left, stopped me and said, “Have a nice day” with such feeling, it spoke volumes.

Waiting for my soup, I stood in wonder at these employees, most of them probably making minimum wage, who, in spite of the anguish on their faces, shaking hands, and frantic movements, continued to solve the food problems of one customer after another patiently and politely. I thought of Jesus, his short life on this earth, and the way he died. I thought of the relationship I now have with him, a relationship open to anyone who will believe and accept him as Lord of their life, and I thought of the perspective it brings. Because of Jesus, I can be calm when all around are frantic, knowing that missing the occasional meal is nothing compared to missing out on a life with him. Because of Jesus, I can smile at a frazzled employee, even though I have waited in line for a long time. Because of Jesus, I can try to learn something from experiences such as this, rather than allow them to ruin my day.

Because of Jesus.

"Wherever you are spiritually

whatever you have been through emotionally,

you are already wrapped in the Lord's embrace,

held close by his nail-scarred hands."

Liz Curtis Higgs