Once upon a time in early 2014, the Cordreys went to lunch after church. It wasn’t that unusual for our family to enjoy a meal at nearby restaurant on a Sunday afternoon after being in God’s house. It was, however, unusual to find his Son at a local eatery. Or was it?
Nick would have been 9 years old. As I recall, he chose Panera. As a novice bread connoisseur, Panera was one of his favorite places. [Insert mouthwatering description of a crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, deliciously warm bread bowl.]
As the four of us went inside, Nick decided to hold the door for the family of three coming in behind us. I heard the father figure say, “thank you, young man”. We ordered, as did this other family. Nick and the older gentleman ended up at the drink station at the same time, where Nick and he both chose water. Nick offered the gentleman a lid and a straw to go along with his ice cold beverage. Again, I hear the man thanking Nick. Soon thereafter, both families went their separate ways to each lunch, sitting on either side of Panera’s fireplace on the cold March afternoon.
Thirty or so minutes later, the other family finished eating, and as they walked to the door, the gentleman stopped at our table to address us. He cheerfully told us that it was refreshing to see such a positive and polite young man in “this day and age”. We thanked him. He looked at Nick, saying, “keep doing what you’re doing!” Then he again thanked Nick for his kindness.
Once the family was outside, I asked Nick about why he went out of his way to help the gentleman. He said, “I was just using my manners. And his name tag said, ‘Jesus Christ’. It’s the least I could do for him, mom”. Nick was right about the tag – it said Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But he wasn’t entirely accurate about the impact of his actions – it wasn’t the least Nick could do, to the gentleman, it was just the thing to do. As usual, I learned something from Nick that day we met Jesus in Panera.
Regardless of your religious beliefs, think of someone you admire or respect, and how you might treat them if you ran into them unexpectedly while at lunch. What about a person you happily, but erroneously, believed was someone else? How would you behave? Would you hold the door? Hand her/him/them a straw, napkin, maybe even let her/him/them ahead of you in line? What about a stranger? How would you treat a stranger? How do you treat a stranger? How do any of us treat one another on any given day? Now just imagine if we treated each other with such great care rather than only those we hold in high esteem. It’s what I try to do, but it’s hard.
I hope you run into your Jesus and follow Nick’s lead, as much as Covid restrictions and social distancing will allow, and do the least you can do.