Every so often I like to have breakfast for dinner, especially if it is at a café where fresh biscuits keep coming day or night. So I recently did. I was not disappointed.
My waitress served well and was cheerful, though I could tell how tired she was. As she checked me out at the register I asked if her shift would soon be over. She said in a couple of hours. I suppose the look on my face asked a question and she answered it: "I work full-time as a nurse at the VA. When I get off at 5 pm I come over here and work until 10 pm."
That only brought more questions, not less. Why would a full-time nurse be working a second job, and here? I told her I thought it was hard enough working one job, much less two. I was ready to leave it there, not wanting to pry anymore into the life of a stranger. But she no doubt read my face again and, after an awkward little pause, simply said, "My husband was a drunk. To get out as best as I could I exited with all the debt in my name. I didn't care; I just had to get out. It was worth it. And now I'm paying it all off."
I was reminded just how heavy the load is that so many people carry. And some carry heavier loads than others at different times. Sometimes we might be in a position to do something about a particular dilemma in a practical way. But much of the time we are simply called upon to listen and understand. We shouldn't necessarily try to fix things. But we can stand in spiritual solidarity with whatever they experience. They are not alone. And we are blessed to know that when we suffer we are not alone either.
I really believe in hope. As a matter of fact, in most cases I think that hope is the difference between survival and demise. So whenever I can I try to bequeath a word of hope - without being corny or saccharine. After paying my bill I just said, "Someday you'll dig out of this and things will be different than they are now. You won't need this second job." She smiled and said, "I'm counting on it."
