Needless to say, this stop for coffee has been on my mind for the entire day. Here is what happened. As I was at the "pay" window, a car quickly pulled right in front of me and drove to the "get your food" window. The lady at that window just handed over my coffee. The car quickly sped away. I sort of watched this happen before I realized...."Hey! What just happened?" At this point I just pulled up and the lady proceeded to try to give me the order for the car behind me. I explained that I had just ordered coffee and clearly the car that had pulled in front of me had never ordered or paid for anything. They apologized to me for the wait, as they poured another cup of coffee for me. The manager came to the window and said that unfortunately, this scam has been happening to them often.
As I pulled away, with my cup of coffee, so many thoughts were running through my head. First of all, how hungry was that person who was doing this scam? I was suddenly sorry that I had not ordered a breakfast meal. I wondered how often this person pulled this trick and how long they had searched for a drive through that had a long stretch between pay and get your food, and one that also had traffic flowing right next to the drive through lane. I will never know if this person was just trying to get something for nothing (in which case I am not sorry that I only ordered coffee) or if they were truly unable to pay for their breakfast (and in that case, I would have gladly bought them a breakfast combo meal).
I was a church secretary for over 15 years and I experienced many, many people coming to the doors of the church asking for food and/or money. I learned that sadly, 7 out of 10 times, the stories being told were not true. I was often alone at the church and I learned to be very wary when approached for help. I learned to keep a stash of McDonalds gift cards and also Grocery gift cards to give them. I have fallen out of the habit of keeping these gift cards in my car (something that I always did, years ago) to give to people holding signs asking for help.
I guess you might be saying, "What's the big deal? It was only a couple of dollars and a cup of coffee." For me, I guess this has left me wondering what the message for me is in this event. I have been trying to figure out why this bothered me so much. This idea that there are people who are so needy in my suburban area, really troubles me. On the other hand, if it was someone just trying to beat the system, I am concerned that they doing this so near my home. I guess this was a wake up call for me. I am going to be more mindful of people around me who might need more than just a kind word or a smile. They may be hungry and need a meal.
Lately I have been praying to have eyes to see things as Jesus does. Today might have been one of those times to see something that I might have missed. There has been talk of "pay it forward" events including one that I read with 280 cars, each paying for the car behind them. I guess my story is sort of the opposite of that. I am choosing to keep my eye on the GOOD that is in the world and will remember the pay if forward events. And the next time I am in the drive through, I plan to pay for the car behind me. Help me turn this event today into something good by joining in this challenge. Can we all pay it forward just one time? See the world through the eyes of Jesus and make someone's day. Pay for that car behind you and share the love of Jesus!
Jesus, thank you for today and that cup of coffee. Lord, put someone who will share your love in the path of that person that took something from McDonalds that was not theirs. Holy Spirit, remind us all of the blessings that fill our life. Give us courage to step out and share your love with the world around us, one person at a time. Amen
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