Her Name Was Tracy

Many years ago, before I answered the call to preach, I arranged family gatherings every three months of the year to celebrate birthdays. We would have dinner at my house sometimes and shared a meal at various restaurants as well. What a fun time we had reminiscing, laughing, and poking fun at each other. Even the restaurant servers joined in our gleeful festivities with their jokes and antics. One day our family agreed to go to Pizza Hut. At that time, we were recognizing the April-June birthdays. I purchased a large sheet cake from Sam's Wholesale enough to feed the whole pizza parlor. As my family and I walked in, I noticed one of the employees looking our way as if to say, "Oh no, I do not want to serve them." Well, one cannot always assume what people are thinking just by facial expressions so I proceeded to walk towards this young lady whom I will call "Tracy". The closer I got to Tracy, the angrier her face became. She had no desire to participate in my joyful countenance. Yet, I greeted her with kindness. Barely opening her mouth to return the greeting, she turned away and began speaking to another employee. As she whispered to this young lady, they both turned to me and laughed. Neither of them wished to serve me and my family. I was not certain the reason for all of this, and still not sure today. Wow. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion was turning out to be a vexation. Thank God the manager came out from the back and ordered that Tracy serve our table. She reluctantly seated us, and took several minutes to return with our water and drinks. She took our order with a sort of shiftless attitude. At this point, my family had recognized her callous disposition, and they began to whisper, "What is wrong with her". I noticed that she especially did not want to talk to me. Perhaps, my trying to cheer her up with smiles and pleasantries was annoying, a little irritating. Frankly, at that point, I was on the verge of just giving her my swift tongue of wrath. However, the Lord kept me silent. Members of my family mentioned not tipping her because of her lack of service. I am sure that she also expected to get what she deserved. She deserved a write-up, termination, a good whooping perhaps. Yet, God would not allow me to retaliate. He ordered me to be silent. So, as we got up from the table to leave, my family was still talking and laughing, but I had Tracy on my mind. Maybe she was experiencing difficulty at home. Perhaps, society has judged, criticized, made her to feel insecure. Could she have been abused? I am not certain, but what I am certain of is Tracy deserved no tip at all. God used me that day to show His love to her. I not only gave her a considerably large tip, but I walked up to her and smiled and said, "Thank you", and guess what happened? She actually looked at me and this time, though she did not speak, her eyes filled with tears that spoke volumes. They said "Thank you' and "I am sorry". Although, I was not looking for an apology nor was I expecting a smile in return, it gave me joy that I in some way could show the grace of God to Tracy. I drove home that night, and I prayed for her. I began to think about all the times that I deserved punishment, but God gave me His grace instead. Let us not be so quick to get back at people with our swift tongues. See the "Tracys" in your life through the eyes of Love, who is God. There you have it people of God. Your Pastor's Truth.