It doesn’t matter who we are, we all have the opportunity to help somebody who is in need on occasion. That is especially true when it comes to the homeless and we see them around on a regular basis. Some of us help the homeless by slipping them a dollar or two but others avoid doing so for their own, personal reasons. It really is a choice that each of us has to make and nobody has a right to judge how we handle this situation.
Then again, there are some people who go above and beyond when it comes to helping others and they deserve the recognition they have coming their way. That happened when a homeless man walked into a Chick-fil-A in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He may not have been expecting more than some food scraps but he ended up getting the surprise of a lifetime.
There was a father and daughter who were also enjoying a meal at the Chick-fil-A that day and they saw what the manager did. The father, Joey Mustain, posted what he saw on Facebook.
“I took Stella to Chick-fil-A today. It’s our normal daddy-daughter spot. It’s clean, so good, and the playground has a tractor beam on her the moment she sees it.
When we finished eating and she’d worked up her dessert appetite playing with the other kids, we went back to trade in her toy for ice cream. She wanted to sit at a table to eat the cone (something we usually do in the truck), and I’m so glad she did.
We took a booth right next to the spot where you wait for your drink to be ‘refreshed,’ and we had a front-row seat to this beautiful scene: a homeless traveler had walked in and asked if they had any extra food.
Mud was wet and caked on his well-traveled shoes.
His hair was matted, and his beard wasn’t a statement as much as it was a necessity and a sign that he doesn’t get to shave as often as most of us do.
People near him kept their distance, but that didn’t stop him from being kind. He spoke to people who reluctantly spoke back, and he smiled while he waited on a manager.”
The manager went up to the homeless man and Joey was surprised with what happened:
“All I could pick up on of the conversation was the manager saying that he’d love to give him a full, warm meal. Not just scraps or extras.
After the homeless man agreed, there was no waiting for things to die down, there was no scooting anyone to the side.
As busy as they were, the manager stopped then and there, laid his hand on the man, and proceeded to pray.
I heard love in that prayer. The homeless man wasn’t some untouchable stain on business. He was the reason that store opened its doors this morning (or any morning).
I asked Stella to watch and she stared. She asked what was happening and when I told her, she bowed her head, too.
I realized then and there that Chick-fil-A doesn’t simply do business for profits, they truly use business to minister….
I love teaching my daughter life lessons, and I also love being there to watch other Christians teach her life lessons. Thank you, Chick-fil-A, for taking care of the latter today.”
The manager was well within his rights to ask the man to leave his restaurant but he decided to do something positive.
The homeless are facing a very difficult winter and we have it within ourselves to make a positive difference in their lives.