“What’s your name?”
Her question confused me. Not that I don’t know my name, but she was a customer at Taco Bell who seemed to be waiting for her food just like me.
“I’m Lee.”
“Lee? OK.”
Should I ask her for her name? I had no idea.
She went back to chatting with a man who stood next to her.
I glanced around the dining room at maybe 25 teens spread out and gathered in groups, mostly in the corners of the restaurant. I'd spotted the school bus in the parking lot before I went in on Saturday afternoon, hoping to grab a quick lunch. I’m not sure why I didn’t walk across the parking lot to Raising Cane's when I spotted the bus. It just never crossed my mind.
As it turned out, the teens had just ordered and were waiting for their food.
“Ian?” called one of the workers with a tray of food.
Nobody came forward.
“Ian?”
The woman who had asked my name took charge. By then, I’d discerned she was one of the three adults in charge of the group. She grabbed the tray and started going table to table. After she found the right person, she came back toward the front.
“I’m having a hard time understanding her accent,” she said to me when she returned. Apparently, there wasn’t an Ian in her group, but she figured it out. And I finally understood why she asked for my name. She wanted to make sure I got my food.
I stood patiently, knowing there were maybe 15 orders in front of mine. A teenage girl wearing a “Jesus Loves You” shirt walked by. That’s when I started to wonder if maybe it was a church group.
Nobody was on their phone. Instead, every member of the group was engaged and chatting with each other.
For some reason, when you order food on digital kiosks in restaurants now, they never give you your drink cup. You have to ask for it. Anyway, a couple of the boys were quick to serve, getting drink cups for everyone.
“Ian?” the same worker said maybe ten minutes later.
I examined the tray and figured it must be my order. After sitting down and diving into my food, I overheard the woman who checked on me telling a couple of the girls nearby about God touching her soul. It felt sacred.
A large group of students gathered in the corner while one talked about wanting to be a good witness. The woman took an orphaned tray over to them after nobody had staked a claim, and they politely distributed the chalupas and whatever else among themselves.
Four or five kids gathered around a boy in a wheelchair on the other side of the restaurant. A Bible sat on their table.
Yep … clearly, this was a church group. And it showed the difference Jesus can make. No bickering. Total engagement. They went out of their way to serve one another. They shared food. And they listened – not just to one another but to their leaders.
It all felt like such a gift to me. I went in hoping for a quick lunch and left feeling inspired and hopeful. These kids are living counter-culturally and reflecting a radiance of Christ that is impossible to miss. And I’m so glad I didn’t.
