B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

Some of my most favorite people in the world are the volunteers at Cadence who support our paid staff by helping with some of the day to day tasks, but more importantly building relationships with our customers.  Sarah is one of our Wednesday volunteers, she and her husband Ray are great at connecting with customers and building new relationships.  She came into Cadence for a meeting outside of her normal routine a few days ago and I asked her to share her experience here at Coffee Together:

As I walked into Cadence for my meeting I noticed him – a young man sitting on the couch wearing a backpack and holding a bus ticket with the demeanor of a 10 year old boy.    I smiled and he smiled back.  My appointment hadn’t arrived yet so, I decided to sit at one of the tables.  I continued to notice the young man on the couch and watched as he nervously kept looking around for a friendly face.  A few minutes passed and he got up and wandered over to me to ask a favor.  Of course, my initial thought was he needed money but much to my surprise all he asked was:  Could you tie my shoe?  You see my left arm is paralyzed and I can’t do it.

Oh what a sweet moment!!!!

I reached down and asked if he wanted a single knot or a double knot and then proceeded with the “simple-to-me” task.  He went on talking and eventually he laughed and said:  I think I need a wife! — to which I replied:  or just a good friend!!

I am thankful I got to be his friend today and I pray God sends him many more!

Isn’t it funny how we can make assumptions about other people?  Thinking that they may have one need, but really the true need is less visible and yet so much greater.   Keep your eyes open today, because you might just find someone who simply needs a friend even for a minute to help them tie their shoes.

Thanks for sharing Sarah.  This reminds me of one of my favorite life verses:

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” – Matthew 25:40

I’d love for you to send me a story, or a challenging thought that I can share here, each week.  The only two guidelines are that it has to be under 500 words, and it has to be an encouraging or thought provoking message.  Send it to shannon@riverchurch.me.