His Name is Stephen

Last night hubby, the boys and myself went to the big city. We did a little shopping and then went to a restaurant for dinner. That's where we met Stephen. He was our server.

It was very obvious that he was having a difficult night. The table to my left, he give them our ticket by mistake. He forgot to order our appetizer and never brought hubby his soup. Hubby ended up eating only salad for dinner. The couple behind us were there with their third child... a baby just a few weeks old. He brought them their food before he ever brought their drinks. His pain was more than evident.

Hubby, with the same mercy and grace he showed last Saturday night with dinner, never mentioned to Stephen about the appetizer or his soup. Stephen realized about the soup when he was starting to clear dishes from our table. He kept apologizing over and over. Hubby told him not to worry about it, that he wasn't all that hungry when we came in any way.

Early on in our time with Stephen, I had mentioned that we do not have one of those restaurants where we live. Stephen had asked what was the special occasion that brought us out... family time was our answer. He smiled. As he continued to clear some of the dishes and had taken care of our ticket..... he told more of his story to us.

He has only been in the big city for a month. He followed his x-wife and their two children there. They've been divorced since June, but have started dating each other again. She got a great paying job, and so there he was as well. When I asked how could we be praying for him specifically, he almost fell over the chair he was leaning against. He asked for us to pray for him..... he wants to get his act together not just for her and the kids but because he realizes he needs to for himself. "I'm 31. I've always had a mother, a girlfriend or a wife to do every single thing for me. I need to learn how to take care of myself and stop being like a child."

He also would love to own, operate, and cook for his own restaurant some day. He said he realized that he needed a lot of help to ever come any where close to that dream. He thanked us and looked a bit more refreshed as we were leaving. Truth is... we did not need the appetizer to begin with either. And he did not charge hubby for his salad.

His name is Stephen. Please pray for him..... his x-wife and their two children. Let us serve up some prayers on their behalf.