My Social Media-less Life

Today, I had a fairly relaxing day. I didn’t do a whole lot, and what I did do was more time-consuming than mind-consuming. By the time I had finished, I figured I would grab something to eat on the way home and then I could unwind when I got there.

So I stopped at Chick-Fil-A, and I almost regretted that decision. The drive-thru line was out to the road and the inside was packed with a bus full of school kids on some Saturday-type field trip, as well as regular patrons who probably expected slightly faster service and more places to sit.

I decided that going in the restaurant wasn’t going to kill me, so I parked my car and walked in. As I was walking in, I had one of those “God whispers”: Keep your eyes open for an opportunity.

Side note, I wouldn’t consider myself an overly prophetic person, nor do I regularly have these moments where I feel like God is very clearly telling me to be on the lookout for something to happen, so when I hear/feel Him saying something like that, I don’t forget it… at least not right away.

By the time I walked into Chick-Fil-A, I had taken pretty good stock of the situation and knew what the general mood of the store was. Thankfully, I’ve never seen an angry Chick-Fil-A customer with my own eyes, and I didn’t see one tonight either. But there were a few people bordering on “upset.”

While I was standing in line waiting to have my order taken, I saw someone from church. This person no longer goes to my church because he and his wife recently moved away to do ministry elsewhere. I tried to grab his attention, but like me, I think he was also silently observing what was going on in the store and just trying to stay out of the way of the workers.

After I gave my order, I went to see if there might be one possible place to sit and eat because I just didn’t feel like I was supposed to leave right away, but the only feel I got from the back of the restaurant was that I was in the way. So I went back to the pick-up area to wait for my food.

Once the pick-up area finally cleared, I was able to get my friend’s attention. And he is a friend of sorts; he’s closer to a father figure type, but we were never so close that I would have called on him immediately if I had needed something. But I have friends that would have, and probably still would. And he’s a great man of God, and I highly respect his opinion and always glean something from him when we talk.

Tonight was no exception. As I said earlier, I had every intention of just going home and not really hanging out in Chick-Fil-A on a Saturday night, but the Lord had other plans. So I ended up sitting and talking with this guy for the better part of an hour. He told me what’s been going on with his life since we last talked, and I told him how some situations in my life with the Lord– while completely different on the whole– paralleled some of the things the Lord has been dealing with him about.

He was able to speak into my life a bit and then we eventually went our separate ways. As I walked to my car, I remembered that God-whisper and smiled to myself.

The opportunity tonight wasn’t about what I could do for someone, but about being reminded of my own purpose through talking to someone else. It was a good reminder that I need to stay in the Word of God and not get so lost in the weeds of the day. It’s hard to do, but it is so worth it.

And it was good to have that reminder tonight.