I Wonder Who’s Watching

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Not long after the vendor hall opened at the homeschool convention last weekend, a mama whom I had met at a retreat several weeks ago came by to say hello. It was fun to see her. As we chatted, she said, “I saw you and Ray walking around downtown with your grandchildren this afternoon.” One of my first self-conscious thoughts went something like this: “Wow! I’d better be behaving!”

The next night Ray and I went out to eat a very late supper with three friends, including two sisters. I’ll call the sisters Ann and Betsy; I’ll call our other friend Camille. The vendor hall didn’t even close until 8:30 p.m., so I really mean very late supper.

It was an adventure. I saw the humor in the situation pretty soon into the experience, but it was the worst service I have ever received in a restaurant. What a comedy of errors.

We walked to Restaurant Z (a trendy and healthy place with modern decor), but seeing a long line, we decided to try the place next door. “Five,” we told the host. “Thirty minutes,” he told us. We decided to go back to Z.

By then, the line was twice as long at Z, but we stuck with our decision. We grabbed five clipboard menus off the rail beside the queue and made our choices while we inched toward the order counter.

When our party got to the spot where we were the next ones in line, we waited and waited. I noticed that the three women in the party in front of us were poring over their menus. I wondered why they had not made their choices while they waited in that long line. We soon found out.

As we waited on and on for them to decide, a manager-looking man hurried to an unused register near us and offered to take our order. The sisters ordered a burger and side apiece and off they went. Camille and Ray ordered burgers and sides. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich. The manager-looking man said they were out of chicken salad and that actually they were out of burgers, too, and that if we wanted to pay in cash, we couldn’t because they were out of change. So much for the $20 bill Camille had been holding. He mumbled on about their busy situation. He listed off each sandwich they didn’t have any longer. Only one spicy choice remained. One.

Back to the menu we went. I’m guessing those three women we’d been waiting on had been doing that, too. Each of us ordered pancakes.

We found our friends and settled into a booth. The sisters sat on one side. I sat between Camille and Ray on the other side. In no time Ann and Betsy got their burgers. Sometime later, I got my pancakes. There I sat with Ray and Camille on either side waiting. Ann, Betsy, and I felt bad but we started to eat. Ours wasn’t going to be good if we didn’t. Ray and Camille waited some more.

After fifteen minutes or so, a waiter arrived, apologizing profusely. “I’m sorry.  I’ll take this off your bill.”

Ray and Camille waited some more. The waiter arrived with two receipts for them to sign to get credit on their cards. Then, he asked an inconceivable question: “Do you still want something to eat?”

Well . . . uh . . . yeah!! They didn’t say that. They politely said they did.

Our late, late night pancake-eating friend Camille said that it was good to be going through that experience in the company of folks she wanted to behave well in front of. Camille is a longtime friend, whose godliness I respect very much.

Being noticed walking downtown with our grandchildren and experiencing our worst restaurant experience ever among good friends were both reminders of our need to be good examples wherever we go.

We know God is watching and we know our children are watching and you never know who else is watching. And aren’t we thankful for God’s forgiveness when we mess up!

Let your light shine before men in such a way
that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

 

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