But I tell you, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

I was feeling really sorry for myself last night. 

 I'm a restaurant manager and it had been a rather tough evening.  More went wrong than went right. To top it all off I had to deal with a phone call from an irate guest.  This woman was really a piece of work.  I knew who she was almost immediately as she began to explain the issues she had with her experience at our restaurant the previous Friday.  I remembered her because she had told us at the front desk when she walked in that we had better not put her near any children because she planned on being very offensive.  Most of us assumed she was being tongue in cheek.  Just in case she wasn't kidding however, I searched the restaurant for tables not near children.  As luck would have it, we were pretty full up with families with multiple children that evening.  We hoped perhaps once again that she was kidding, that would prove not to be the case.  It was so bad apparently, that a guest from a nearby table asked to see me during the night.  She wanted to tell me that I needed to know that 1) the table by her and her children was using extremely offensive language and that the only reason they didn't ask us to do something about it was because they only had to deal with it for a little while and were leaving and 2) everything they had overheard them saying about their server was a gross exaggeration and that they had the same server and she was wonderful.  

So now that you have the background, I'll continue the story.  

So this woman, we'll call her Jane, begins to berate my staff, particularly her server for that night.  She begins to over exaggerate the time the whole experience took, ( I know this because we researched the time from seated to check closed), and name a multitude of things that they were unhappy about.  

It's not as if my staff that night didn't care.  When they asked to see a manager, the manager went over, listened to their gripes, tried to create a report with them, gave them a 20% discount for "not receiving the experience they had come to expect from our restaurant," AND invited them back in for a meal consisting of what we server for first course and fourth course, for four people (the amount of people in their party) on us good for the next 60 days.  She made some sort of snarky comment about how far away they live so he added an additional 30 days for them to be able to return and redeem the offer. 

So Jane continues to yell at me over the phone.  I really do my best to put myself in her shoes and attempt to defuse the situation.  I try using all methods I've learned over the years as a restaurant manager, and when those failed I tried to just be real with her.  It was however, to no avail.  In the end, I reached by breaking point and got too real.  I even went so far as to let her know what the other table had said about her table and the comments they were making about their server.  She threatened to bash us on social media sites and we hung up the phone probably with both of our nights ruined.  

I sat there fuming. What a wench.  What a horrible excuse for a human being.  Why I am in this industry? Why do I put myself through this.  Woe is me for being in an industry where I have to deal with those kinds of people.  Thankfully I work for an amazing company that prides itself on customer service, and more often than other restaurants, I get a good deal of very happy people wanting to express their gratitude for their experience.  That doesn't take away from the sting of a rather vehement person.  A single pissed off guest can ruin your day more than a single happy person can make it.  I went to bed feeling really upset about my day.

I woke the next morning not dwelling on the experience the night before, but it was niggling at the back of my mind.  I sat up and said my morning prayer.  It is the same one I have been using for the past six months. "Heavenly Father, allow me to be an instrument of your love and your will today.  Use me as as you will.  I submit to you."

Then it hit me. What a dummy I'm being.  I shouldn't be feeling woeful about my job.  I should be AMAZINGLY thankful! 

Matthew 5:44 (NIV): but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

I had been so obtuse.  Was I even paying attention anymore to my prayer? I am luckier than I ever realized.  God put me in a position with greater opportunity than most have to be able to an instrument of love.  That was what I was missing last night.  I didn't approach this situation with God's love in my heart.  

So going forward there will be no self-pity.  No wondering why I am forced to deal with these hurtful people.  I am thankful.  Thankful that God the Father has blessed me with so many opportunities to love my enemies and pray for those who would persecute me.  It doesn't mean that I'll be perfect.  I myself am still a work in progress, allowing the holy spirit to work through me and improve me every day.  But if I continue to focus on this lesson, I can't lose.  

Lesson Learned.  Amen.