Hit On at In-N-Out

For those of you unfamiliar with In-N-Out most have two drive-thru lanes to choose from. Tonight I wrongly chose the lane on the right and was accosted by a customer on the left.

“Welcome to In-N-Out. Can I take your order?”
“Um. . .” Do I want regular fries or animal fries?
“I’ll just have an order fries.” Decision made.
“Is that all?” Hmm… I could still switch to animal fries.
No… I just need something to drink, but I already had 2 Diet Cokes today…
“Could I also get a glass of water?”
“Sure.”
I smiled at the speaker because my scant order seemed a bit ridiculous.
A guy in the passenger’s seat of a truck in the neighboring lane smiled back at me.
Uh oh.
“1 order of fries and 1 glass of water. That will be $1.28.”
“Is that really all you’re going to get?”
So truck man wants to talk.“Yeah. I’m not super hungry.” It was a late night snack – not dinner.
“So where are you headed from here?”
“Back to CBU.”
“Do you go there?”
“Kind of.”
I work there, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Oh, well I live in the apartments right next to campus.”
“Huh. That’s cool.”
Why is this guy talking to me? And why is my car window still unrolled?
Oh good. His truck is moving up. Roll up the window – quick.
And don’t look back over in his direction.
Okay… $1.28. I have a lot a pennies; maybe I can get rid of some.
1…2 ….3… 24…25
KNOCK KNOCK
I jumped.
Are you serious? I can’t believe this guy is actually standing outside of my car.
I politely unroll my window and am doused with the smell of pot.
“Are you single?”
“Yes. But I wouldn’t say that I’m available.”
I’m definitely not available to date you. Call me picky, but I’m just not into scraggly, 21 year old pot heads, but I suppose I should give him some sort of explanation.
“I’m working on publishing a book and I think I’ll be able to market it better being single.”
“So I would be roadblock for you?”
“Yeah… I guess.”
“Well, have a good night.”
“You too.”

He returned to his truck and I returned to my pennies, feeling somewhat guilty for not introducing myself. And I could have been nicer. And… no I won’t feel bad… he was sketchy.
“Hit On” Evangelism is just too tricky.

Dream Job on the 93rd Floor

Her name was Meredith and she longed for a Titanic romance – not one involving a tragic death, but rather one in which she would meet a handsome, young man on cruise ship. She lived down the hall and was hard to love at times, but we loved her anyways. We’d invite her to Bible study and to other Christian events happening on campus, but she always used the excuse that she needed to study. Michigan’s Business School was ranked #1 in the nation and she wanted to be certain to get in.

Every once in a while Meredith and I would talk about spiritual things. She told me that she’d like to read the Bible and explore Christianity a bit, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon. She didn’t have the time; she needed to focus on her studies so that she could get into the Business School. She dreamed of a high paying job and vacations on cruise ships.

Meredith made it into the Business School and even before receiving her diploma she was offered her dream job. After graduation she moved to New York to settle into her office on the 93rd floor. She booked her cruise for the month of September, but she never got to go on it; she never got to meet her Prince Charming. Because Meredith’s dream job was on the 93rd floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

I don’t know where Meredith stood with God when the Towers crumbled to the ground. And I don’t know where each of you reading this stands with God. But I do know that our time “here” is limited. You’ll always have your reasons to brush God to the side, but those reasons won’t help you on your departing day.

Do you know Jesus?

Have you been brushing God to the side?

How are you doing in loving the people around you?

If you would like to talk more about this particular post, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to dialogue further with you. This post is written in memory of Meredith Whalen.