For Only A Dollar
Today I went to Wendy's, the restaurant, which was one of
those rare occasions I get to treat myself. I had it all
planned out. I had been thinking about it all day.
I was going to have my Wendy's usual, a chicken sandwich,
small fry and small drink, which were all off the dollar menu.
However, while placing my order, I had a change of heart. You
see I live in Easley,South Carolina and its 90 degrees today. So I
decided to have the dollar frosty instead of the small drink.
I decided to wait to order it until I finished my meal so that
I could have it on the walk back to the car. By the way,
I was telling all this to the young guy who was taking my
order. It makes me laugh at myself now. But he politely
smiled, nodded and offered me a cup of ice water.
I took my tray and sat down to enjoy my meal. As I was sitting
there eating and listening to 3 unruly, crying kids and
noticing 2 parents who think they are acting normal, an older
gentleman came into the restaurant. He appeared to be in his
seventies, very tall, very skinny, and a few days unshaven and
very white hair. His clothes were clean but didn't fit right.
He was carrying 2 backpacks, several newspapers folded neatly
under his arm, and a large Igloo(r) water cooler. He placed his
things in the booth next to mine and proceeded to the counter
to order. At that time, I noticed how quiet the restaurant had
become. No one was staring at the gentleman because they
didn't want to make eye contact with him. Even the unconcerned
parents were forcing their children to be quite and not look
at him.
I continued to watch everyone's reactions towards him, and I
knew exactly what it felt like to be in his position because I had hard times in my life, and it's hard to hide that fact. People don't know how to respond to you. They want to help, they know they should help,but for whatever their reasons are at the time they don't. So what do they do...?
They get quiet and for God's sake don't make eye contact. As
long as they don't make eye contact with you, they think you
don't know that they know. However, we know and feel it more
than you will ever know.
I watched him order; he asked the young guy for ice for his
cooler, then he ordered a large drink without ice. He paid
with pennies. I noticed the look on the young guy's face. I
recognized that look, he was nervous that the gentleman would
not have enough money to pay. He then would have to make a
decision on what to do; call a manager, put in some change of
his own or tell the man to buzz off.
The man had just enough to pay. He too had been planning his
treat at Wendy's all day, he had counted that change over and
over again to be sure he had enough before ever entering the
restaurant.
He didn't want anyone to know and it was embarrassing enough
to have to pay with a handful of 'found' pennies; but to do so
and find you don't have enough is an even a bigger fear. So he
paid and at that moment, he was rich. He was able to go into a
cool place, order something, pay for it, read his paper and
for a brief moment, feel normal.
I continued to watch him and the others, not knowing exactly
what to do myself. Sometimes we just want to pretend that no
one knows. I watched him organize his things and he sat down
next to me. He faced the window and his back was towards me.
He didn't make eye contact. I watched him wipe the table and
seat down before he sat down to read his paper. He took the
drink without ice and poured it into the cooler; he stretched
his dollar. I continued to enjoy my meal and tried not to
feel sad for him, myself or those watching.
Then I remembered my decision not to order the drink and to
get a frosty instead. It all became clear. If I had ordered
the drink, I would not have had the dollar in my pocket
waiting on that frosty. I smiled at myself and said, "I get it
God". I knew why you made me act a fool at the counter when
ordering; I was suppose to have the dollar in my pocket at
that moment. So I got up and walked up to the counter. The
young guy said, "Ready for your frosty", and I said, "no, I
think I need another chicken sandwich". He said, "Still
hungry?" I replied "something like that".
I took the chicken sandwich, sat back down at my booth, waited
a couple of minutes and spoke to the gentleman. I told him I
had an extra chicken sandwich and asked would he like it.
He nodded his head yes, took the sandwich and began to eat it
before he could unwrap it completely. I then noticed a strange
reaction in the restaurant. It was no longer quiet. There was
a buzz, but I wasn't sure why. Feeling good about what I had
done and how much better that felt than the brain freeze I
would have gotten from the frosty, I finished my meal.
As I was gathering my trash, there was a rush to the counter.
3 people from 3 different tables, including one of the parents
from the unruly kid's table all headed to the counter.
I sat back down to watch. One by one, they all brought him
something over; first a fry, then a small salad and then a
bowl of chili. All 3 saying the same thing I had said, I have
an extra item, would you like it. He never said a word; he
just reached out to take it and nodded yes to each. I watched
for a minute longer as he arranged his banquet; he bowed his
head for a moment and then continued on with his feast.
I watched the others begin to leave the restaurant. They were
walking very tall, big smiles and feeling pretty good. They
got that feeling "For only a Dollar".
I think sometimes we just don't know what to do, and we're
just waiting for someone to show us. Today, God showed me what
I needed to do. When I listened, look what happened. When we
do something small it makes a world of difference. As I was
leaving, the guy at the counter called his manager up and they
both smiled at me as I left. I smiled with my big "Dollar"
smile back and I felt seven feet tall.
As I walked by the window, the gentleman waved at me and
mouthed the words, "God bless you". I think I saw him wipe a
tear from his eye. At that moment I felt pretty blessed and I
definitely had to wipe a tear from my eye. And I got all this
"For only a Dollar".
those rare occasions I get to treat myself. I had it all
planned out. I had been thinking about it all day.
I was going to have my Wendy's usual, a chicken sandwich,
small fry and small drink, which were all off the dollar menu.
However, while placing my order, I had a change of heart. You
see I live in Easley,South Carolina and its 90 degrees today. So I
decided to have the dollar frosty instead of the small drink.
I decided to wait to order it until I finished my meal so that
I could have it on the walk back to the car. By the way,
I was telling all this to the young guy who was taking my
order. It makes me laugh at myself now. But he politely
smiled, nodded and offered me a cup of ice water.
I took my tray and sat down to enjoy my meal. As I was sitting
there eating and listening to 3 unruly, crying kids and
noticing 2 parents who think they are acting normal, an older
gentleman came into the restaurant. He appeared to be in his
seventies, very tall, very skinny, and a few days unshaven and
very white hair. His clothes were clean but didn't fit right.
He was carrying 2 backpacks, several newspapers folded neatly
under his arm, and a large Igloo(r) water cooler. He placed his
things in the booth next to mine and proceeded to the counter
to order. At that time, I noticed how quiet the restaurant had
become. No one was staring at the gentleman because they
didn't want to make eye contact with him. Even the unconcerned
parents were forcing their children to be quite and not look
at him.
I continued to watch everyone's reactions towards him, and I
knew exactly what it felt like to be in his position because I had hard times in my life, and it's hard to hide that fact. People don't know how to respond to you. They want to help, they know they should help,but for whatever their reasons are at the time they don't. So what do they do...?
They get quiet and for God's sake don't make eye contact. As
long as they don't make eye contact with you, they think you
don't know that they know. However, we know and feel it more
than you will ever know.
I watched him order; he asked the young guy for ice for his
cooler, then he ordered a large drink without ice. He paid
with pennies. I noticed the look on the young guy's face. I
recognized that look, he was nervous that the gentleman would
not have enough money to pay. He then would have to make a
decision on what to do; call a manager, put in some change of
his own or tell the man to buzz off.
The man had just enough to pay. He too had been planning his
treat at Wendy's all day, he had counted that change over and
over again to be sure he had enough before ever entering the
restaurant.
He didn't want anyone to know and it was embarrassing enough
to have to pay with a handful of 'found' pennies; but to do so
and find you don't have enough is an even a bigger fear. So he
paid and at that moment, he was rich. He was able to go into a
cool place, order something, pay for it, read his paper and
for a brief moment, feel normal.
I continued to watch him and the others, not knowing exactly
what to do myself. Sometimes we just want to pretend that no
one knows. I watched him organize his things and he sat down
next to me. He faced the window and his back was towards me.
He didn't make eye contact. I watched him wipe the table and
seat down before he sat down to read his paper. He took the
drink without ice and poured it into the cooler; he stretched
his dollar. I continued to enjoy my meal and tried not to
feel sad for him, myself or those watching.
Then I remembered my decision not to order the drink and to
get a frosty instead. It all became clear. If I had ordered
the drink, I would not have had the dollar in my pocket
waiting on that frosty. I smiled at myself and said, "I get it
God". I knew why you made me act a fool at the counter when
ordering; I was suppose to have the dollar in my pocket at
that moment. So I got up and walked up to the counter. The
young guy said, "Ready for your frosty", and I said, "no, I
think I need another chicken sandwich". He said, "Still
hungry?" I replied "something like that".
I took the chicken sandwich, sat back down at my booth, waited
a couple of minutes and spoke to the gentleman. I told him I
had an extra chicken sandwich and asked would he like it.
He nodded his head yes, took the sandwich and began to eat it
before he could unwrap it completely. I then noticed a strange
reaction in the restaurant. It was no longer quiet. There was
a buzz, but I wasn't sure why. Feeling good about what I had
done and how much better that felt than the brain freeze I
would have gotten from the frosty, I finished my meal.
As I was gathering my trash, there was a rush to the counter.
3 people from 3 different tables, including one of the parents
from the unruly kid's table all headed to the counter.
I sat back down to watch. One by one, they all brought him
something over; first a fry, then a small salad and then a
bowl of chili. All 3 saying the same thing I had said, I have
an extra item, would you like it. He never said a word; he
just reached out to take it and nodded yes to each. I watched
for a minute longer as he arranged his banquet; he bowed his
head for a moment and then continued on with his feast.
I watched the others begin to leave the restaurant. They were
walking very tall, big smiles and feeling pretty good. They
got that feeling "For only a Dollar".
I think sometimes we just don't know what to do, and we're
just waiting for someone to show us. Today, God showed me what
I needed to do. When I listened, look what happened. When we
do something small it makes a world of difference. As I was
leaving, the guy at the counter called his manager up and they
both smiled at me as I left. I smiled with my big "Dollar"
smile back and I felt seven feet tall.
As I walked by the window, the gentleman waved at me and
mouthed the words, "God bless you". I think I saw him wipe a
tear from his eye. At that moment I felt pretty blessed and I
definitely had to wipe a tear from my eye. And I got all this
"For only a Dollar".
Jan Bagwell
God Bless
A Bountiful Harvest
by Deborah Ann Belka
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be bountiful
may it be one of abundance
full of souls, who are faithful.
May the ground that was toiled,
with the labor of hope and trust
produce a return for You . . .
that is righteous, moral and just.
May the seeds that were sown,
in the glory of Your grace
yield new hearts for You
across each nation, every race.
May the prayers over the fields,
change a multitude of lives
may they continue in Your love
to grow, reproduce and thrive.
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be plentiful
may it be one of abundance
widespread and bountiful!
for You be bountiful
may it be one of abundance
full of souls, who are faithful.
May the ground that was toiled,
with the labor of hope and trust
produce a return for You . . .
that is righteous, moral and just.
May the seeds that were sown,
in the glory of Your grace
yield new hearts for You
across each nation, every race.
May the prayers over the fields,
change a multitude of lives
may they continue in Your love
to grow, reproduce and thrive.
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be plentiful
may it be one of abundance
widespread and bountiful!
John 4:35
- See more at: http://www.christart.com/poetry/poem523.htm#sthash.11SH0Vl7.dpufA Bountiful Harvest
by Deborah Ann Belka
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be bountiful
may it be one of abundance
full of souls, who are faithful.
May the ground that was toiled,
with the labor of hope and trust
produce a return for You . . .
that is righteous, moral and just.
May the seeds that were sown,
in the glory of Your grace
yield new hearts for You
across each nation, every race.
May the prayers over the fields,
change a multitude of lives
may they continue in Your love
to grow, reproduce and thrive.
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be plentiful
may it be one of abundance
widespread and bountiful!
for You be bountiful
may it be one of abundance
full of souls, who are faithful.
May the ground that was toiled,
with the labor of hope and trust
produce a return for You . . .
that is righteous, moral and just.
May the seeds that were sown,
in the glory of Your grace
yield new hearts for You
across each nation, every race.
May the prayers over the fields,
change a multitude of lives
may they continue in Your love
to grow, reproduce and thrive.
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be plentiful
may it be one of abundance
widespread and bountiful!
John 4:35
- See more at: http://www.christart.com/poetry/poem523.htm#sthash.11SH0Vl7.dpufA Bountiful Harvest
by Deborah Ann Belka
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be bountiful
may it be one of abundance
full of souls, who are faithful.
May the ground that was toiled,
with the labor of hope and trust
produce a return for You . . .
that is righteous, moral and just.
May the seeds that were sown,
in the glory of Your grace
yield new hearts for You
across each nation, every race.
May the prayers over the fields,
change a multitude of lives
may they continue in Your love
to grow, reproduce and thrive.
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be plentiful
may it be one of abundance
widespread and bountiful!
for You be bountiful
may it be one of abundance
full of souls, who are faithful.
May the ground that was toiled,
with the labor of hope and trust
produce a return for You . . .
that is righteous, moral and just.
May the seeds that were sown,
in the glory of Your grace
yield new hearts for You
across each nation, every race.
May the prayers over the fields,
change a multitude of lives
may they continue in Your love
to grow, reproduce and thrive.
Lord, may this year's harvest,
for You be plentiful
may it be one of abundance
widespread and bountiful!
John 4:35
- See more at: http://www.christart.com/poetry/poem523.htm#sthash.11SH0Vl7.dpuf
