Sonny’s Employee Receives the Son

This past weekend I took a trip to central Florida for a spiritual vacation. My friend Joe (who I’m staying with) had his father living with him temporarily but was driving him back home to Tampa. I decided to ride along.

Joe Sr. wanted to take his wife out to eat before his son, daughter-in-law Susie, and I headed back north. When Vicky got in the car, there was a brief discussion on where we were going to eat. Pizza was mentioned as a possibility and I was hoping we would have that for dinner. Although Vicky said it didn’t matter where we went, Susie insisted we go to Sonny’s Bar-B-Q because that is Vicky’s favorite restaurant. At first, I was somewhat disappointed as I usually avoid eating pork. But I reminded myself that God could be setting us up for a divine appointment.

While the five of us ate (I opted for the all-you-can-eat salad bar), we were served by a waitress named Andrea. Andrea told us she was new there and even revealed that her boyfriend had just stolen $40 from her purse. Near the end of our meal, I asked Andrea, “Did you know that God loves you and has an awesome plan for your life?”

Sadly, Andrea replied that she never heard that before. She later told us her grandmother was a Jehovah’s Witness. Andrea heard things from her grandmother that turned her away from Christianity. Nevertheless, Andrea had thoughts of finding a church but didn’t know where to look. I led Andrea in the prayer of salvation. Joe Jr. and I then mentioned local churches we were familiar with that she could visit.

Before the five of us left Sonny’s, Andrea came back to our table twice to thank us for praying with her. I’m glad we didn’t go out for pizza after all.

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.”

- Psalm 37:23