A Café in Arizona and a Table of Laughing Ladies

My husband travels for business. Often.

And it’s always a road trip. He’s driven hundreds of thousands of miles over the years. Nowadays he takes someone along, but years ago he traveled by himself.

He’s had many adventures on all those trips. Helping stranded motorists, seeing the country, making friends, and conducting business.

While I could fill many pages with his experiences, the following is one of my favorites.

He stopped for dinner at a café somewhere in Arizona. He was tired and hungry.

He placed his order and sipped some tea while waiting for the meal.

He and I have always enjoyed some good old fashioned “people watching”, and though I wasn’t along, he took in the different scenarios around the restaurant.

Families, couples, a few sitting at tables alone like him, and a table full of older ladies talking and laughing.

He settled his focus on them. They were having so much fun! He decided that they must have been friends for a long, long time. There was an obviously deep bond between them. And though he wasn’t at their table, he was having fun just watching them.  

His attention shifted to the steaming plate of enchiladas set before him. He was hungry after all.

Often times he drove longer than he should before stopping to eat. And today was no exception. It was a really good meal.

The check arrived. He left his tip on the table and stretched his legs as he stood. On his way to the counter to settle his bill, he passed by the table of ladies…still sitting there and still having a wonderful time.

He paused to say hello. He told them that it was so nice to see them talking, laughing and enjoying each other.

They laughed some more and honestly…I’m thinking they may have thought he was flirting with them a little. And then, he did it.

What I’ve seen him do so many times before.

He picked up the check from the corner of their table and announced that he wished to bless them by paying for their dinner.

Their excitement and disbelief was hard to hide. They thanked him profusely for his kindness.

He assured them that watching their good time helped him to miss his family a little bit less.

And so, he wished them a good evening and went on his way. I imagine that they sat a little longer to talk about him and what he did.

That’s how he rolls. A table full of ladies, people sitting alone, police officers, military personnel, homeless. He’s paid for dinners all over this country.

Sometimes they know it was him…like in this story. Other times, he just quietly asks the server for someone else’s bill.

His heart is kind and he looks for ways to help others. He doesn’t really tell anyone about it. He likes to do things out of the spotlight.

There are no records to keep after all. Just do good.

In Acts 10:38 we read that Jesus himself “went around doing good”. We’re to be as comfortable helping a stranger as we are helping a friend.

Look for your own way. We all feel prompted at times. And the more often we follow through, the more often the prompting will come.

I promise that while you’re doing good for another, your heart will be full too.