“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” Isaiah 6:8
The week has come to Friday, that everyone loves to go out for dinners as a pre-weekend planning. Fridays are known for my traditional night out with a group of friends. We always try out various restaurants, both old and new. The Celtic way is to fellowship with friends around the table.
This time we picked the newest restaurant that has just opened for business a couple of months ago. It turned out to be the upper end of the middle restaurant scale of $, $$, and $$$. When looking through the menu to decide what to order, a quiet voice from the Holy Spirit said, “pay extra.” I am not sure why; I nodded in agreement and went with the flow.
The menu is limited to 4-6 items for each appetizer, entree, pasta, and desserts. They do have Taco Tuesday and special happy hour dinner occasionally. I have to say that the food tasted fresh and delicious for the money’s worth. I forgot to ask the owner if the foods were all local ingredients. I am a big supporter of the restaurants that use the local farms produces and meats. I have no interest in doing business with big chain restaurants because of the distribution of food supplies. You will not be disappointed at Jake’s if you ever make the trip to Brandon, MS.
After our meals have arrived, there were a few complaints from a couple of friends that they didn’t get or want. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed, but I don’t let that ruin my relationship with friends. Some actions are meant to be. I am happy with the order I had. The owner came to our table to check on us. He’s a nice fellow with a positive attitude regardless of the situation. After he heard the complaints, he offered us free desserts. It was an excellent offer, though.
Then it dawns on me from the quiet voice I heard earlier. I paid it forward for the desserts, the salad with tree nuts on it that my friend couldn’t eat, and the extra percentage to the tip. I cannot accept a free meal over a complaint and the generous gratitude of the owner. It is an appreciation of gratitude in return—the way of Celtic Christianity.
I am sure some lessons learned that night for them and me for listening to the Holy Spirit. I will diffidently go back because of how well the staff, servers, and owner behaved. They treated us the respect.
What do we do now?
Take the time listening to the still quiet voice from the within. Go with the flow and do what you were told to do. No matter how silly it may be, but there’s a reason behind it that you know nothing about. Be kind and trust God. Don’t be a critic, or you won’t be trusting Him.