Adventures at waffle House & God

Back in the day I think I might’ve been Stephen’s age around, 11, or 12 years old. My dad and Jennifer and my brothers and dogs and my great grandma were all piled in the van on a road trip. We were headed to Kentucky. I remember there where  a lot arguments, people getting in trouble, and car games, but there was also stops on the way up there, and the one that rings true in my memory is when we stopped at a local waffle House. For years I have despise waffle houses all because of this one experience I had when I was a little. I remember going through the doors and the smell hitting me like a tide of bricks. It was so cloudy that my eyes began to water. You see back then it was common for people to smoke inside restaurants, and that smell may me queasy. Everything we got at waffle House tasted like he came out of an ashtray. I remember getting sick, and threw up, and was dizzy for a few hours after we left the establishment.

  For many years anytime anyone in would mention waffle House. That imagery would ring clear in my memory.   It was a very bad memory, and even today I could still smell the decrepit stench of smoke. Well today I did something I never thought I would do I found myself going to a waffle House. It was between waffle House in Cracker Barrel, and my friend Carrot and I had just had Cracker Barrel yesterday, so Stephen and I decided we were going to try it. I won’t lie to you I was a bit apprehensive of even stepping inside the restaurant; because, even though I know they are no longer allowed to smoke inside restaurants, that memory still hunts me till this day.

  As we entered it looked like one of those old-school diners. Almost brought me back to a time when I was a little Kid. Around the age of seven or eight my mom would take me to school. On the way to school we would stop at this old diner. Sometimes my grandpa would join us. Everyone knew was there, and in time they knew what I wanted. I would simply go to the waitress and asked her for my usual. That consisting of French toast, bacon, and orange juice. As I walked in the waffle House doors this bought that memory flooding back. We sat down at a booth and gazed through the menu. Everything was extremely cheap. Which could have been one or two things, either it was a really good deal, or to the food sucked so bad that they were trying to compensate. Stephen wind up getting a whole meal that consisted of chocolate chip waffle with whipped cream, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, and a hot chocolate. I got a baby burger that was a dollar, and a 99 cent orange juice. I also helped Stephen with some of his. We also got another baby burger for Stephen to take home for dinner later that day. In the end our Bill was under $13. So now I am down with waffle House.

Why tell you this incredible story; because, this got me thinking. For years I didn’t go somewhere because of a bad experience I had when I was little. That one experience kept me from ever wanting to try to go in another waffle House again. Let’s dig deep we’ve all had experiences in our life’s. Sometimes they’re a lot more horrific than a bad dining experience. Example: “I got my heart broken why should I ever want to attempt to have another relationship so I could feel that pain again?” (Does that sound familiar?) Or “you don’t understand what they did to me at that church.  They’re all a bunch of hypocrites! Im never going to another church again” (am I hitting a nerve yet?) “Sorry I can’t do that. I tried a one time and it was a total disaster.”  “I’m afraid they’re going to laugh at me. I’m afraid of what will happen if I say something to them about Jesus”

Things happen in our lives that we can’t change. Experiences happened that define us and shape us to the people that we are today. Without them we would be empty shells of people who would’ve should’ve but didn’t. This is just a simple waffle House experience that will definitely get repeated, but maybe there are experiences in your own life that go way deeper, and God is asking you to give it another shot. Don’t miss out on the blessings God has for you because of a past experience. You never know how trying something again may turn out.

This is the Kiwi please go free to leave any comments –peace out-