APPLES OF GOLD

When paying my bill at a restaurant, the waitress asked me how the food was. I replied that the food was good and that her service was even better. She said thank you, stood there, and fought back tears. I would have liked to sit back down and let her tell me her woes, but that wasn’t practical. I got in my car and drove off. As I thought about the situation, I was reminded of two things. First, we never know what someone might be going through. She wore a smile, worked adroitly, and was very pleasant. Underneath though, there was obviously something weighing heavily on her mind. The second reminder was that we never know how welcome a simple kind word is. Some people are downright desperate to be appreciated, respected, or acknowledged. Proverbs tell us that a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a silver setting. Sometimes we are so busy trying to be funny or charming with our comments that we miss opportunities to be apples of gold to a hurting soul. How do we recognize a hurting soul? Look in the mirror. Everyone can benefit from a word fitly spoken and we should seek to be an apple of gold to someone every day…starting at home!!