Have you ever met someone who made a difference in your life, yet they may never even know the impact they had on you?
I wanted to share a story of some customers who came into Big 5 when I first started working there who truly stood out to me. They are the people I refer to as "the nice customers".
The nice customers came into my job within the first couple months of me getting hired. They had bought a watch that didn't work and needed to be exchanged, but due to the craziness that was taking place, they had to spend 30 minutes in the store before the entire situation was figured out. They waited with such patience and talked to me as if I was one of their friends instead of just another cashier. They spoke to me with kindness and were very encouraging, not even worried about the fact that they were having to wait so patiently. In the end, the new watch didn't even work right, so they had to go through the return process once more. By the time the nice customers left, though, I didn't see them as two more customers passing through my line... I saw two people who I now viewed as friends.
Since our first time meeting, I have seen them in other places around town. A few times, I have seen them back at Big 5. In the few short meetings, though, they have impacted my life so much that I now see that no matter where you are, you can impact someone's life for life.
I've worked at the same place for a year and four months. I've encountered thousands of people passing through my line, yet these two people are still the ones that stand out to me, and I pray I see them again someday.
When I think about these two precious people, I have to ask myself, "What's so different about them in comparison with any other person I've helped who's walked through my line?" Honestly, what stood out to me about these people was their hearts. They took a deeper look at me instead of taking me at face value. They treated me like a friend, and their kindness spoke to my heart in a way I won't soon forget. I imagine that even when I'm old I'll remember these two people and the kindness they showed a young teenage girl at her first job. When they had every right to become impatient and respond unkindly, they instead went above and beyond to show kindness. Their comment to me before they left was something that truly made me stand in awe. They told me how kind I was. All I could think was, "How is it that you're being so kind to me when most people (including myself) would've never been so patient if they were in your shoes?"
These people aren't just kind to me, though. When I've watched them with other people, I realize that this is simply the character they display no matter where they're at. They show kindness to total strangers, and every time I see them, I see a ray of sunshine! I look at them and think, "I want to be like that! I want to be someone who impacts total stranger's lives!"
We're told to do whatever we say or do as unto the Lord. These people definitely show fruit of living by that principle!
Last night, my mom and I were driving home from Lancaster, and we had a conversation that is actually the reason I'm writing this devotional now. One of the statements she made to me was to grow where I'm planted. She didn't mean this to say, "Move up the ladder wherever you're planted." She meant, "Make a difference wherever God has you." I've been at my job for such a long time that most people who run into me around town know me as the "Big 5 Cashier". I say that you know you've worked somewhere too long when people start recognizing you by your job title, but my mom saw it differently. You see, I look at what I do and don't see significance in it, but what she told me made me realize the position I am in is a position where God can certainly work through me to make a difference! She said, "Just think about the nice customers, Taylor. You aren't even positive of what their names are, yet they impacted your life in such a huge way! You don't have to just be known as the Big 5 cashier. You can be known as the Big 5 cashier who always greets people with a smile!"
If you doubt the impact of what kindness can do, I encourage you to not stop showing kindness wherever you go. I hope to one day share this devotional with the nice customers just to express what a difference they've made in my life. Whether they ever know or not, though, I won't ever forget them.
Here's a verse as an ending encouragement: "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to thank You for the nice customers that came through my line and changed my life! Thank You for the blessing of getting to meet such kind people who impacted my life and may not ever even know it. I pray that You'll allow me to be the "nice customer" in someone's life! Please use me to make an impact like that... an impact that restores someone's hope... an impact that makes someone see Jesus even in the simplest circumstances of life. Please bless these nice customers. You know their names, and You know their story. They're certainly blessings to this world. Help me be a blessing to someone just as these two friends were a blessing to me! In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
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