I was once told that we can see God in everything. I believe that. I also believe that we are given the opportunity to learn from every interaction. We can grow from an event or that same event can cause us to lose a piece of ourselves. My internal prayer is always to laugh, to learn, and to live experiencing each day as an opportunity to better myself and my environment. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see that thought process live.
Yesterday, I went to pick up a cake for a farewell gathering at my office. The bakery section was closing and there was only one gentleman there prepping it for the next day’s work. I selected a cake and asked him if he would write “Best Wishes” on it. He readily agreed. I watched him silently and noticed that he seemed a bit nervous. Before he wrote out the words, he mimicked them in the air above the cake. Then he shook his head satisfied with the mimicry and wrote out the phrase I’d requested. When he returned the cake to me, it looked like the attached picture. The writing wasn’t pretty. There was a misspelling. It certainly wasn’t what I would have expected. But I didn’t get upset. I didn’t even bat an eye.
Here was that experience that we hope for in our everyday interactions. This man was so apologetic and was so eager to please. He looked literally terrified that I would be angry. It was almost as if he was trying to make himself smaller. I know that look. I hate it. It reminds me on when I was a youngster and the “mean girls” would bully me because I was more interested in getting education than I was in being popular. I wanted to erase that look from him. So I chose to be and indeed was thankful for his willingness to serve when he was the only one available. I heard his apology for not being the best writer, but I chose to focus on his can do attitude. I was impressed that despite what others (including himself) would have deemed a limitation, he stepped up to do something when he could have easily explained that he wasn’t a sufficient writer and would not be able to provide me services needed. Because of this young man, I will continue to use this bakery (another writer J), but I will enjoy being served by him. And I may just see if he’d be interested in being a rep for my personal company. Good customer service and earnest employees mean something today…especially to me.
Thankful for life lessons in everyday situations.
-WinterMommy
