slept in heaven

today my friend sarah and i went to the mall's chick fil-a for our weekly chicken biscuit brunch and mutual processing session. both of us have had a lot to digest lately in our ministry and personal lives. it's been a great little half hour escape once a week that often helps me focus in everything else.

now, because of our frequency to this chick fil-a, they really know us there. several of the workers know our exact orders. (in fact last week my friend megan went to pick me up lunch because i had a meeting run late and when she told them my order it the worker laughed and said "that's not for you is it? it's for your friend with blonde hair, right?" so funny...and a little embarrassing!)

today one of the workers commented to me, "i wish every customer was like you guys. you just look like you slept in Heaven. you always smile and are so nice. so many people come in and are grumpy and rude to us." i thought at the irony of someone commenting that i looked like i had slept in Heaven - me, the girl who never sleeps through the night. yet i do feel at peace. so while i didn't sleep in Heaven last night, i can always sleep with the hope of heaven and know that's God's love and joy is mine to share with others. sarah and i felt humbled by this and determined to make a greater effort to love and get to know our chick fil-a workers. so when we got our customary cherry coke refills we introduced ourselves by name and learned his name (jared). it's a small step to loving my neighbors in this city better. and i pray that they will see Heaven in my countenance more often.

a whole "herd" of us at cow appreciation day on the 10th. jared is in the background behind the counter.