I watched in surprise (I’m ashamed to admit) as the world became a kinder place with the surge of Covid in 2020, with many people insisting that everyone should pass along that kindness. Many did. It was inspiring.
Then I watched in horror as 2021 brought an abundance of people full circle to showing their true colors once again. According to recent statistics, crime in 2021 was off the charts. Road rage, shootings, murders, human trafficking, racism and domestic abuse, just to name a few, reared their ugly heads once more. Overwhelmingly, it seemed.
Are we humans completely unredeemable? Well, yes—without Christ we are. But that doesn’t mean we bear no responsibility for our actions until He returns.
My family had a one-of-a-kind encounter this Christmas that has dominated many conversations since, as well as helped restore my faith in the capacity of the human heart for kindness.
My husband and I decided to break tradition by taking our immediate family out for a Mexican dinner on Christmas Eve rather than the usual feast at home. Now before you get all up in arms thinking I didn’t cook for my family, you should know that I spent most of Christmas day doing just that.
On Christmas Eve we chose our favorite Mexican restaurant for the meal, only to discover when we arrived that they had closed at two pm. After many boo-hoos, we made a mutual decision to go to our second favorite Mexican restaurant.
Since we were a party of fifteen, six adults and nine grandchildren, we called ahead. They had a very long table grouping ready when we arrived and seated us immediately. The service was excellent and the food was even better. We all had a delicious meal and a wonderful time with lots of laughter.
Near the end of our dinner, a man approached us from a booth near our tables. He came to stand between me and my daughter. To my shame, I expected something untoward was about to happen. Then he leaned down and placed a fifty-dollar bill on the table.
“I’ve been sitting over there listening to your family conversations and it has blessed me,” he said. “I would like to contribute to the cost of your meal, or you can do something else with the money. It is up to you.”
As a writer, words are my forte. In that moment, I had none. I looked across the table to my husband who was as surprised and tongue-tied as I was. Words escaped me. I felt like an idiot as I stammered, trying desperately to think of the right thing to say.
My husband and I have always done our best to be a financial blessing to others; especially those we knew to be in need. In all of our life, neither of us had ever been in the position of being blessed in this manner. It was eye-opening and humbling.
Finally finding my voice, I thanked him but insisted that it wasn’t necessary. He insisted that it was, and refused to be swayed. My daughter, son, myself, and my husband stood and spoke with him for a few minutes. There were tears and hugs as we parted ways. All of us smiling. The blesser and the blessed.
After the gentleman went back to his booth, my husband and I looked at each other, still in a bit of shock, and immediately agreed we should leave the money as a tip. Our server had been excellent and certainly deserved it. So, that is what we did.
This encounter may not seem that odd to some of you reading this. Maybe people handing you money on a daily or weekly basis for no reason is common. For our family, the unusual experience struck a chord and brought to mind the importance of being kind to strangers and paying our blessings forward.
Matthew 7:13 says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap.”
And Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted…”
Of all the joys our family experienced this Christmas, our encounter on Christmas Eve with a kind man who wished to bless others was one of the best moments, and no doubt God-directed. A lot of details had to fall into place for us to be in that particular restaurant at that exact moment. For whatever reason, God touched a man’s heart, who in turn touched the hearts of fifteen family members, who hopefully touched the heart of a server in a Mexican restaurant.
We’ll never know who that money ultimately blessed, but we were thrilled to be a small part of the blessing.
And if the kind gentleman we met this past Christmas Eve is reading this, consider my faith in human nature restored. At least for one brief moment in time.