One of my and my husband’s favorite places to eat is Waffle House. Don’t judge. Of course, we enjoy all the wonderful food, not least of all, the syrupy delicious waffles, but it’s not just about the meal. Truth be told, it’s more about the atmosphere. I’ve told him before that I would like to work at Waffle House for a day. It seems like such a great avenue to meet people, and minister God’s grace day to day.

Let’s just be honest. People who frequent Waffle House know what they’re going to get. Good food cooked and served by real people. They know it’s not Outback. They don’t expect catchy slogans or meals named after exotic places. They come for the experience.

Let’s talk about the atmosphere. Again, people who frequent Waffle House don’t expect to be seated by a hostess wearing an evening gown. It’s more of a, “Come in, and make yourself at home. I’ll get to you as quick as I can,” kind of place. Some mornings there is lots of joking and laughter. Other mornings, the atmosphere is quite tense. Take our last visit, for example. The tension was thick. There were lots of dynamics at play.      

One regular patron commented to the egg cook about being short staffed. That’s all the tall servant needed to turn around and engage in 15 second’s worth of conversation. “Bruh,” he said, hanging his head and shaking it at the same time. “BRUH,” he emphasized his frustration with a smile on his face, “Short staffed everywhere.” I had caught a glimpse of his kind but stressed personality as he turned back to his labor.

The hash brown/toast/pancake lady was the apparent veteran. She was harnessing every ounce of scathing reproach that she longed to unleash upon the bacon lady and the hostess’s lackluster performance. 

The untitled servant seemed to have no official designation, but was best at being directly in the path of every other employee. Her skill set seemed to be in the area of helps because her very presence kept them all swerving, dodging, eye rolling and blinking in rapid fire precision.

I feel a bit guilty to admit that I enjoyed every minute of this observation, all the while enjoying my perfectly cooked breakfast. I would have also enjoyed chatting with each of them, and giving them a word of encouragement. Unfortunately, none of them had time to stop from their labors, and even in all the tension, they worked as a team, and provided the service the patrons had come to expect.

The Church is a bit more like Waffle House than Outback. It’s staffed with real people who, just like you and me, are pressed on every side with the stresses of life, yet doing their job admirably 99% of the time. 

When you come into the Church, don’t expect it to be perfect. Instead, enjoy the atmosphere, and the good spiritual food cooked by real people…Oh, and compliment the staff when you have the opportunity.

“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.” (Luke 10:40)