David & the Sisters

This is David posing with my daughters. He is a man-of-God and a son-of-my-heart. On a recent trip to Omaha, he brought along a couple of honorary nephews from his church. He took them for supper at Fuddrucker’s and said to the girl behind the counter, “These are my nephews from Kansas.” (One is Hispanic and the other Italian. David likes to shake things up.) “This is their first time in your restaurant. Give them the Fuddrucker’s spiel.”

The girl just stared. Of course.

“You know,” David said, “Tell them what Fuddrucker’s is all about. What makes you special?”

“Uh, I don’t really know…”

Now, David has managed some pretty classy eateries in his day. If someone at Kona Grill had answered that way, he would have busted them back to dishwasher! And “maker of the world’s greatest hamburger” didn’t seem like a very hard thing to know about one’s employer. But, the girl might still have been hung up on the “these are my nephews from Kansas” line. Maybe she thought David was the front man for a hidden camera show. Either way, she froze. He eventually bailed her out by ordering some food.

David tried the same thing at the next place he took the boys to eat. And, he got the same response. He was aghast. How could you work for an establishment and not even know what it’s about? How could you not know the spiel?

Indeed. How can we? How many of us go through the day just earning our minimum wage, totally unaware that we are part of some greater good in the world, some bigger picture? I don’t want to be stumped like the waitress next time someone asks me, “So, what’s this all about?”

Whether it is my job at the front desk of a country clinic, (We are Here to Serve) or my calling as a writer (telling a great story that encourages folks in the faith) or my life as an ambassador of Christ, (Helping people be reconciled to God) I want to know what it’s all about.

To the best of my ability, of course. Hamburger, anyone?