About a week or so ago, I stopped by Royal Farms on my way to a meeting and placed an order for an egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwich. Nothing fancy … or so I thought. From behind the counter, the deli-prep employee looked right at me and with such genuine joy asked: “Have you tried these biscuits yet? They are to die for!”
She went on for five minutes – no exaggeration – comparing the texture and taste of said biscuits, and I stood there rather dumbfounded, silently griping to myself that this woman was holding me hostage to her stream of-conscience critique of convenience store starch items. Am I really supposed to care about this? Is it normal for someone to be so happy about buttermilk? I mean, it’s just a breakfast sandwich, for heaven’s sake.
It was at that precise moment that it struck me: it was never about the biscuit in the first place. Here was this beautiful soul – one whom most people either ignore or take for granted – trying to engage me and share a little joy on a dreary Saturday morning. She wasn’t afraid to enter my world with a little bit of her own light. Shame on me for missing it in the moment.
As I left the deli counter, she smiled and told me to let her know what I thought of the new-and-improved biscuit formula the next time I’m in the store. How incredibly kind of another human being to actually care about my happiness with a product she made. We have lost much of that concern in modern society, haven’t we?
I told her, of course, that I would … and I will, too. (Just don’t let Wawa know I am cheating on them!) I would bet that very few people ever take the time to thank this humble, hardworking and happy woman for what she does for countless commuters on their way to and from whatever keeps them busy, distracted and unaware of the good people who still light the way for the rest of us.
Thank God there are still people like the Royal Farms employee in this world. May I never fail to be like her. More importantly, when these special souls come into our lives – even if for a moment – may we never fail to appreciate and thank them for sharing a bit of their light and their heart with us.