My mother and I were visiting a great little pizza joint (Tom’s) in Paris, Tennessee over the weekend. There was a big Saturday evening crowd there, but the servers were delivering their usual great service and keeping the food and orders moving.

Our waitress sat a couple of customers just a few feet away from us. Menus were left for them and water was delivered immediately. But less than two minutes later, the woman shouted at the employee “is ANYONE going to take our order???” It was loud and made all of us around them uncomfortable. The waitress flashed a big smile and said “of course… how can I help you?”

A few minutes later this waitress delivered our bill. I apologized for the guest’s rude actions and said we hoped her night got better. She replied that she’s gotten used to this sort of behavior over the years.. and she said the best response was always to be kind. “You never know what kind of day they could be having.”

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

We can’t control how people treat us, but we can control our responses.

I pray that the next time I’m treated rudely in a store or cut off abruptly in a meeting that I’ll have the presence to provide grace. What’s going on in that person’s home? Are they dealing with an illness or a stressful situation? I hope that I’ll pause, consider their current state of mind, and then respond with kindness.

Let’s all exhibit some grace today- and to my server at Tom’s last Saturday evening…thanks for the lesson in kindness.

Please let me know how to pray for you.

Jesus loves you and I do too.