God gold of the day
Walked into a gas station late one night and the lady behind the register said, “hey sir, how are you doing? Welcome to Circle K!” A big smile painted all over her face and at first I thought “that’s different,” usually when you walk into a gas station of all places it’s rare to get such a welcoming and warm response from the person behind the counter. But I thought maybe it’s just me, then as I looked for my pack of juicy fruit I listened as this woman greeted every single person that walked through the door with the same warm greeting! “Hey, how you doing today, welcome to Circle K.” Even if people came in back to back or if she had a customer she was checking out, she didn’t seem to miss a beat. It struck me as odd because usually a job behind a gas station counter is one of the lower paying jobs around and usually the attitudes of gas station workers I’ve encountered over the years is in a lower place on the welcoming and smiling spectrum. But this woman was different, she took her job seriously and she gave it all she had to give, even though I’m sure she wasn’t asked to, she gave anyways.
She was a welcomed surprise (no pun intended) in a world of bad attitudes and poor spirited individuals. I took such a great lesson from her that night as I watched her continue to embrace and successfully over achieve at a job that she could easily like so many others with this job, not care and not try. It was obvious that her heart was shown to each customer and felt by many!
I thought so much from this random woman behind a cash register and I had only known her through one sentence!
A gentleman was checking out in front of me and the two were talking as if they knew each other I guess from years of living in the same community. The old man asked the cashier how her baby was doing before he exited the store and she paused for a moment, sighed and said; “we’re getting by.” It was obvious that getting by was far from what was actually taking place in the woman’s life.
It stopped me dead in my tracks, how could a woman with a baby and obvious problems financially and most likely larger than that; how could she possibly have such a huge smile on her face? How could she radiate with such amazing amounts of joy as she welcomed each and every customer that stepped foot into her store. Struggling, working a job with little advancement possibilities, while taking care of and providing for her baby, but she smiled anyways, served anyways, went above and beyond anyways, and loved anyways with such a simple sentence of; “hey, how are you doing today? Welcome to Circle K!”
What an example this woman is for any of us that are struggling to make ends meet, providing for others or going through any tough situation. Wow, what an example for us to learn from and live in!
Before the old man exited the store, after hearing the woman’s response of “we’re getting by,” in a much different tone than her welcome, he walked behind the register with money in his hand and said, “here you go, this is for that baby of yours, you keep pushing through!”
It was such little moments but once again I watched God’a mighty hand at work in such simple ways!!!! Another great example and lesson from this old man to give, put self aside and give to those who are in need! Anyone could have watched the way this woman worked so hard and went above and beyond with the simple word; why? Why would you give so much when you get so little? After hearing about her struggle, once again; how? How can you remain joyful and having a heart to serve others while going through all this bad?
I don’t know the answers but I think the only answer is God. Only God can bring us through tough situations and give us all and then some of what we need to continue serving Him faithfully! I watched as the woman’s faith was displayed for all to see and I also watched how God takes care of, provides and blesses those who remain faithful even in the worst of times!
From the lessons of this woman and this old man, I could talk all night about the gold to be taken away here but I just pray that you too learn from these awesome faithful examples of love and service! And I simply challenge you today if you are going through something difficult, if you find yourself in a place that seems like it isn’t enough or not good enough for what you need, trust God and smile on!!! Keep loving and serving others with all you got despite the odds, for as you’ve seen, God will always take care of you!!!
And for the one who sees the opportunity to give or love someone in need, I challenge you to reach out to someone, give them exactly what they need, whether that’s money or an encouraging word! Don’t sit by and focus on yourself, God had called you for so much more, take time to reach out by a text, phone call or any opportunity that opens up and give yourself to others! Speak encouragement and bless others with the love from Jesus that lives within your heart! It doesn’t have to be some big grand gesture, just keep it simple because as we’ve seen God works in extremely simple ways! Be that somebody today that reached out with a smile, speaks a warm welcome of encouragement or gives themselves to others around you!!! It’s why we’re here and what it’s all about!!!
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