In the South, at the end of summer, sometimes there is this magical day where the heat breaks, the humidity is low, the sun is shining (but it's not oppressively hot), and a cool wind infects the air with the optimism of cooler weather on the way. I see this as a good day to run some errands.

On one such day, I was walking out of the grocery store with a medium sized load of groceries. It was easily manageable by myself so I had declined the assistance of the bagger to help me out to the car. As I sniffed the air, I picked up on a hint of the fragrant scent of fried chicken. My grocery store is across the street from Chick fil A.

As I contemplated whether or not I had time to run by the Chick fil A to pick up a quick snack of chicken nuggets and diet coke, I was distracted by someone who recognized me. “Hey, Ms. Christy. How are you?” He seemed quite happy to see me.

Reconnecting and Feeling Encouraged

We all have those moments when we see someone we know, but they are out of place. The brain takes a second to put the puzzle pieces together. But that wasn’t the case for me this time. I knew immediately who the young man was.

“Oh my gosh! How have you been? I haven’t seen you in so long. Where have you been?” I replied.

“I’ve been in college, but I’m home now. I’m back to work at Chick fil A. Can I help you with your groceries?”

I only knew this young from having had him take my order in the Chick fil A drive through. Not only did he remember my name and was glad to see me outside of work, he even offered to help me with my groceries. My first thought was “His momma sure raised him right.” But my second thought was, “I shouldn’t be surprised. He works at Chick fil A.”

Living Sacrifice

I’m not meaning to sing the praises of a corporation that sells what is likely the single most contributing factor to my inability to sustain health eating habits. But I do want to use my experiences with some of the company’s employees to illustrate Romans 12:1.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

Our work is one form of that living sacrifice.

Little Interactions, Tremendous Impact

My first exposure to Chick fil A was when the Valdosta Mall opened way back in the '80s. Many of its first employees were friends of mine from my church youth group. In fact, I think just about every guy in my church youth group worked at Chick fil A at some point or another. Chick fil A was never shy about professing its core Christian philosophy. And the automatic Sunday off was appealing to a lot of teenage boys. I know a few of those guys who are still trying to get the chicken smell out of their hair.  

I was obviously thrilled when a Chick fil A opened near my current house in back in 2012, but I might have been better off diet-wise had it not done so. But it’s not just the addictive chicken that brings me back, it’s the day in and day out positivity of the location’s staff.

When I go through the drive through in the morning to pick up my son’s chicken minis for breakfast, I am met with Johan, who always has a smile and says, “God bless you.” Ms. Francis, who takes our order when we dine inside, has watched my youngest one grow up and is always excited to see him and makes a point to make him feel special. It was this Chick fil A where Logan, one of the longtime employees, jumped through the drive through window to save a child from choking.

Little interactions that come along through the course of anyone’s workday can make a tremendous impact on A WHOLE LOT of people. “My Chick fil A,” as I affectionately call it, has really tapped into something special.

Skillsets and Serving

Unlike the guys in my church youth group, I didn’t work at Chick fil A. My first “real” job was when I was a young Bible thumping college student. I worked as a waitress in a local restaurant. I had the chance to practice my Christian values in my workplace. I had the opportunity to quite literally serve others and to showcase God’s love. Whether or not I truly took advantage of that opportunity, I would love to say that I did. But I’m not so sure. I am certain I missed the boat on some of those chances to make an impact.

Since then, I have graduated with a master’s degree, started and am still raising a family, started and am still running a company that serves victims of child abuse and their families. But I still often use the skills I practiced from that first job:

• Be aware of the needs of others.
• Be polite and kind.
• Be punctual.
• Be respectful.
• Stand up for others.
• Appreciate the value of a job well done.
• With enough creativity, you can carry a lot of stuff at once.

That last one may or may not be the Christian value I was hoping to illustrate, but it is extremely useful to this day for a working mom.

Look for God's Love In Every Person

A few years down the road from my waitressing days, when I was in graduate school, we had a Catholic Priest as a guest speaker in one of my classes. This priest also happened to be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He worked with people diagnosed with chronic psychotic schizophrenia. That may sound like exciting work, but it isn’t. Having worked with a handful of psychotic clients in my own career as a social worker, working with actively psychotic patients can be extraordinarily challenging and disheartening.

This priest shared that he had often received the question, “how do you keep working with these patients?” His response to that question has stuck with me to this day. He said, “I look for God’s love in every person.” This priest/social worker would pray to God for God to reveal Himself at work in that person. And it completely changed the man’s perspective.

Love God, Love People

One of the most quoted verses of the Bible, and for good reason, is Matthew 22:37-39.

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

As our pastor so eloquently sums it up: Love God, Love People. But then Jesus follows verses 37-39 up with verse 40, a clarification...

"All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

I sometimes wonder, what was Jesus’ tone of voice when he said those verses? During which sentence did his voice carry the most emphasis? How did he enunciate the word love?

I think John gives us a little insight in 1 John 4:7-8.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

It’s easy to get caught up in the do’s and don’ts of Christianity. I could write “25 ways to wear Jesus on your sleeve….”. Legalism can be a tricky temptation. But I love the way Jesus just kept it simple. Love God, Love people. Everything else comes from love.

Seeing Someone as God Sees Them 

So, what is love? It’s a customer service rep taking a deep breath and responding calmly when a customer is chewing her out for no reason. It’s a teacher seeing a child that won’t stay in his seat as a child who loves movement, so she invites the entire class to dance. It’s a Chick fil A employee offering to help someone with groceries, even though he doesn’t work at the grocery store.

Love is asking God to help you see someone the way He sees that someone. 

Throughout my career, like the priest I mentioned earlier, I have also been asked how I work with my clients. When it comes to child abuse and neglect, what is in the news is just the tip of the iceberg. How do I keep going day after day seeing what I have seen? Drug abuse, sex trafficking, family violence, in some cases, indescribable trauma… But what I have found, in those most difficult cases, when no intervention seems to be working, when all seems lost, that simple prayer, “help me see through Your eyes” has, without fail, changed everything.

A foster parent once asked me, “Is there any hope?”

I said, “There’s always hope. I believe in miracles because I have seen them.”

A few days later, she brought me a little polished stone with the word miracles inscribed on it. 

There is hope. Miracles do happen. Seeking to see others through God’s eyes, this living sacrifice of our will to His, that’s our piece of the miracle.

To read more encouragement on the blog, click to www.onthehill.life/coth-blog

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