Message In A Breakfast

God is so good.  He really, really is.

I decided to grab breakfast this morning. I had barely enough time but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Plus, I was really hungry.

It was a split drive-through. Those are always kinda a gamble.  In theory it should be every other person to a lane but lots of places have two people taking orders at the same time so sometimes it just depends.

So I played "eenie meenie miney mo", picked a lane and hoped it was the faster one.

The lady in the next lane got done ordering almost at the same time I did so we both pulled forward together.  She was actually already ahead of me so I paused. Then she paused. So I waved her on ahead of me.

Immediately I regretted it. I was in a hurry and I could have saved time by going first.

When she got to the window she took a while to pay and seemed extra chatty. In my mind I was thinking "Let's go, let's go, wrap it up. I could have already been on my way to work by now."

Then it was my turn.  I pull up and they tell me the lady paid for my breakfast!

Here I was being so impatient yet it took her more time because she was doing something nice for me!  Talk about a lesson in humility.

I just felt that it was God's way of reminding me how to move through life. A reminder to be kinder, more understanding and more patient.  So many times in life we react to what's "happening" to us without fulling understanding the big picture or recognizing how it might even be a benefit to us.

Of course I decided to pay it forward so I paid for the guy behind me.  It took her a minute to pull it up and as she did so I looked in my mirror and caught is face.  He wore the same expression I'm sure I had just a few minutes before - like "What is this lady doing?"  I smiled and thought to myself "Hold on - good things are coming!"

I'm sure God has directed that same message to me a million times.

But how often do I listen?

I think sometimes I get so mired down in the guilt of my sins that I don't hear it because I don't believe I'm worthy of receiving his blessings.

But it's amazing because His love isn't conditional. Of course I'm a wretched, awful person - but God already knows that! And He loves me anyway, without qualification.

That's what love is.

I didn't find out if the guy behind me was a "good" guy before buying his breakfast. I didn't check to make sure he met my requirements or passed my test. I didn't know his background, his struggles or his deepest shame. And the lady that bought my breakfast knew nothing of me either (or she might have thought twice). All she knew was that she wanted to take care of a stranger.

Isn't it amazing that even knowing ALL our dirt, that's what God wants too?