Get Culverized. Check.
Not too long ago I had a dream about the youth of today. This afternoon, to my displeasure, I lived the dream. Not exactly, but certainly close enough. A quick summary of the dream is that I was sitting at a table with some mixed company. Many of the people I sat with would be best described as distinguished citizens. I remember having a discussion with two people in particular. One comment came from a man whom I could not see. He said that young people are irresponsible. The other made mention that today's youth don't live for the future, they live for the very moment they happen to be in.
My daughter and I took a trip to the store to get a few things that we needed. Once we had made our purchase and walked back to our vehicle, as I had promised, we buckled up and headed to Culver's to get a treat. (Praise God for Team Scoopie Tokens!) The gentleman at the counter waiting patiently to serve us was pleasant enough. He informed me that Strawberry Cheesecake was the flavor of the day. It sounded scrumptious, but knowing it's not a gluten-free item, I said the two of us would have the chocolate custard. This is the point at which my affect was slightly altered. Un-gentleman says from a few feet afar, "Don't think I'm gonna make you anything."
In my mind I had many equally unrefined words for him. But you see "gentleman" had it covered. He simply walked over to the frozen custard case and scooped it out himself. What a guy! Not a single word was exchanged between the two of them.
You know, I remember what it was like to be a teen. The whole world was ridiculous and so on and so forth. There was pressure to maintain a certain image; most assuredly if you didn't realize who you truly were. And sometimes it would appear that no matter what you did, some aspect of it was wrong. Something in the present just doesn't seem the same though.
Ephesians 6:7 in the NIV says, "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men," and I'm left wondering if maybe the problem is that neither is happening; serving men or the Lord. And yet it occurs to me that there was a teen who through no words at all handled an uncomfortable situation with mercy for his co-worker and compassion toward my daughter and I. There is hope for our future after all and that very hope is in us, and I trust it is also in this gentleman. He certainly shows some good fruit! As the saying goes, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."
I'm thankful that the Lord shut my mouth to prevent me from saying something hurtful to Mr. Un-gentleman. With unrestrained, wisdomless words, I could have ruined a divine appointment. I don't know what the truth of his situation is, still the fact of the matter is I can influence him. It seems to me his gentlemanly co-worker can influence him more so, but I believe I did make an impact since his face appeared to be waiting for a reaction. Instead I responded with a smile and a thank you to the kind, willing gentleman worker.
I intend to love teens especially because God loved me in my past- when I was a teen; in my present- while I'm still so dull; and in my future- when I will meet him face to face with hope of hearing "well done, my good and faithful servant." Meanwhile there are two important things for me to keep on the sticky side of my mind, one is that there is always a remnant. The second is that change begins with me.
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