September 29, 2004
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Another interesting day at Starbucks… there was a customer today who was very upset with me…the funny thing is no one else thought I did anything wrong. He was just a grumpy man who was bitter with life…he looked offended when I repeated his order back to him (something we always do). And then as I took his money, he seemed even more upset. He snatched the money out of my hands with an exaggerated motion and glared at me as he walked away. I asked him if he had a problem…and then he started to raise his voice saying, “No. I don’t have a problem, but you do!” He accused me of giving him bad customer service and that I had snatched the money from his hand. My manager intervened quickly, but he kept saying how rude I was and that I gave him horrible service. I thought he was joking at first…but as reality dawned on me, I fell to disbelief. For a moment, I felt my anger rise and I wanted a real “confrontation” with the guy, but surprisingly, the anger dissipated quickly and I felt sorry for the guy.
the next customer was a regular who comes in every single day and spends hours at our store. He was just laughing and joking about the whole situation. He mentioned something to me that scared me a little. He said, “when you get older, you’ll be like that, too.” I told him that I hope that wouldn’t be true… but I guess people who live without the light of Christ in their lives get beaten up by life’s hardships and turn bitter. What would our lives be like had Christ not touched our hearts to submit to His Lordship and accept Him as our Savior. I know I would be worse than that bitter man…but thank God for grace and forgiveness of sins.
I’m just thankful today. For one, some friends worked out their differences and became more close…God is so amazingly gracious and good. Second, my deeply seeded anger that often rises under duress seems to be disappearing…leaving only what God is placing in me through much pruning and refining.
You know that song about refiner’s fire…the one with the words “pure gold”… I’m sure I must’ve looked like pitch black dirt mixed in with tar and doodoo when I first came to Christ… but hopefully, there is some “shiny” stuff coming forward, but only by the grace of God.
Comments (4)
thanks for being patient with me…it all does pay off. God is surely gracious. your workplace seems as if it has been challenging you a lot lately! hang in there and stay away from the caffeine
hey jae (opa)…thanks for the encouragement…u are truly a man of God and yeah..the advice about seeking God not seeking answers is what really needs to happen for everyone…very true very true..nehows…yeah…those grumpy people, instead of getting angry, we really do need to feel sorry for becuz they don’t have what they really could have if they knew the truth..i mean, i’m christian and i feel like that too, but imagine if u weren’t christian, u know??nehows…see ya at YP:)
Yo Jae…looks like lot of things been happenin’ at your workplace. Man, I think when you get older, there are two extremes…the grumpy ones and the real nice ones.
What’s up with the previous entry about not updating like me? haha. That was funny when I read that.
Anyways, keep your chin up…and get ready for tomorrow’s adventure…!
Hey you think they would hire me over there? I’m looking for a part-time job during the school quarter so for about a few months or so and like 10-15 hours.
hey oppa! what a poopoo head that guy was
aniwho.. sorri I hadnt had the chance to read over your thing that you sent to me and glo… i dont have internet yet! argh.. so mad… the comcast guy was supposed to come today, but no one showed up…. oh, well… your encounter with the grumpy old man encouraged me not to get angry with comcast… good job!