Wayne Weekly “Tears in My Coffee”

The other day while on my way to pick up my daughter Janelle for a lift to Onondaga Community College, I stopped by a local Dunkin Donut store to pick up some coffee for our commute to Syracuse.

While standing in line, just about to place my order, a friend of the server spoke to him over the counter and asked if he had heard that a mutual friend of theirs was killed in a car accident. The server, in disbelief, began to express his shock and dismay over the news. Pacing back and forth the full length of the counter, he cried out no, no, I don’t believe it. I just spoke with his cousin yesterday, no, no!” This went on for a few minutes while I stood in place at the counter wondering what to do next. Soon, the server looked at me and apologized and asked what was it I wanted? I told him that all was OK, I understood what he was going through and I placed my order. He then again began the pacing, but this time saying, “The Lord is merciful, the Lord is merciful”. I was not quite sure how that fit in, I mean if the distraught server had said, “Lord be merciful”, it would have made more sense.

I looked at him once again and said, “Yes He is”. At that he walked up to his order station and soberly said, I’m sorry, two coffees? Yes, I said, it’s OK, I understand.

I wanted to say more, but in that moment it seemed like the coffee server was lost in his grief.  I eventually got my two coffees, and left a man trying to do his job in the midst of distress.

Tragedies happen daily. We just usually don’t witness the news first hand. While we carry on our day’s business people all over the world are being told that a loved one is gone forever. Now, we’re not able or expected to keep tabs on sorrow. If I dwelled on tragedy, I would always be in emotional upheaval.

People will always be hurt by bad news. I have been, and you have been. But we move on, we persevere. We live our lives and set goals and carry on, and love our loved ones while we can. God is in control, and though we would like to call all the shots, we really don’t have that power. The sooner we live that truth, the more peace we will have, and the moments in a donut shop will make more sense.

¹There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens: ²a time to be born and a time to
die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ³a time to kill and a time to
heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, ⁴a time to weep and a time to
laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, ⁵a time to scatter stones and a
time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, ⁶a time to search and a time to
give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, ⁷a time to tear and a time to
mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, ⁸a time to love and a time to
hate, a time for war and a time for peace.                                                                                                             Ecclesiastes 3:1-8