Those who work with me know that my favorite position in the restaurant is the drive-thru window. Why? It’s simple. Drive-thru business is the majority of our business, and the window gives me the privilege of seeing the most amount of people possible!
I love people. People aren’t a number to me, but rather living, breathing souls who need encouragement on a daily basis. If I can’t encourage, why am I here?
Then there are moments in life that surprise you.
About a month ago, I was working the window when I saw a black vehicle come around the corner with a yellow New Jersey plate on the front bumper. The occupants inside the vehicle were incredibly friendly, letting me know they had just moved to Charlotte. I ended up recruiting their daughter to work with us!
Over the past few weeks, these New Jersey transplants have become dear friends… and even beyond that, they have become family to me.
I didn’t even realize I needed encouragement, but God always knows exactly what you need, when you need it.
Dan Cathy always asks, “Do you know how you can tell someone needs encouragement? They are breathing!”
Has someone been an encouragement to you recently? Feel free to share your story!
I’m an open book, and you all play a key role in the story!
I am an open book. Simple as that. The world knows 90% of what goes on in my life. Why? Because, as someone who absolutely stinkin’ loves people… I believe you, and others reading this, play an incredibly important role in my story. Each and every person I meet shapes me in some way or the other.
While many may choose to privately walk the Chick-fil-A journey, I want to share it with you. I am where I am today, and who I am today because of you… and it’s an honor and privilege to include you along the way.
I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that God has a very specific will for my life. I also specifically feel called to be a Chick-fil-A operator. So I include you, my friend. I include you because I have spent time serving alongside of you, kept in touch via social media, celebrated with you, prayed for you, and loved you.
So I humbly ask for prayer. We head to Kalispell, Montana for a little vacation next week, and Lord willing, I am going to hunker down in the Colter Coffee Shop and begin the application process. I have never applied for a store before, and I need clarity of thought as I seek to put on digital paper my heart for Chick-fil-A and how and why I will take the brand to the next level.
I am confident in God and the timing. I know His will will be accomplished no matter what the outcome. And I thank you, friend, for riding along with us… for loving us… for supporting us… and most of all, for praying for us.
It means the world!! God bless you.
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An encouraging word goes a long way!
Ever get into a rut? I’m not even typing in the negative sense of the term… but rather a steady routine of sun-up to sun-down. A routine that lends itself to one wondering if they are still making a difference… still being influential.
I have the privilege of being a director for Operator Dean Sandbo. It’s a fantastic place to serve. Though we are not perfect, the place is alive with people who love to love people, and who love to work hard, and strive to be innovative and creative. Business is good!
But on an individual level, sometimes you don’t know if you are still making an impact… still being influential… even though inside, you feel you are giving 110%.
I feel called to be a Chick-fil-A operator one day. I very much believe that God has called me to fill that position when it is His time for me to do so. But as many of you know, the journey can be long and tiresome… and you need that “spark” of encouragement from time to time.
A couple days ago, that “spark” called me over to himself. He was an older man who had stopped in for lunch, and he said these words to me, “You held the door for me and greeted me warmly when I entered the restaurant, and all while I ate lunch, I watched you. I watched when you had your break, and I watched as the kids (my team members) came around to talk to you at your table. That tells me you are a good manager.”
WOW! A simple man with a simple word. But it spoke volumes of encouragement to me. I am not the perfect leader… no one really is the perfect leader. But I trust that one day, when it’s all said and done… that people will say that I was faithful to what I was called to do, and that they felt truly loved when I was around them. It is genuinely my heartbeat.
To you, sir, Mr. Spark of encouragement… Thank you! Thank you for taking the time to breathe into existence words that give me energy and spirit to keep on keeping on!
HOUSE OF PRAIN 