May I help you...

This is for all of you waitstaff out there...

Today we met a woman named Elizabeth at Logan's Roadhouse. She was our waitress. The conversation started when she asked us if we were photographers. We told her that we were working on a documentary, and she did a great interview of her own. When I gave her some of our cards, she said that there was a guy that works the night shift that would be really interested in this project. She said that he was a devout Christian, and the way she said it made me want to meet him. She said she would take some of the cards and give them to people at her church. I asked her which church she went to and she told us. She can't go much because of her work schedule.

When she asked us what kind of answers we were getting, I told her that many people were burned by their church experience. People were giving up on God and were deciding not to believe in Him since it seemed like the only logical conclusion. She said she was going through a similiar struggle because her church had split. The pastor had embezzled all of the church's money and it was hard to go back after that.

She said that even having other choices of faiths, she would not give up on Chirstianity because it was the happier story, but that she wanted to make sure that she believed, really believed, what she did and was not just trying to cover herself for fear of eternity. She said that she was sure that if she was just trying to cover herself that when she got up to the "pearly gates," her true motive of just trying to cover herself would be exposed and since it was not with a right heart, she would not be seen as truly knowing God and that it wouldn't count. She said that she wanted to know that it was real and she wanted it to be real. She said that she was looking and asking daily for God to reveal Himself to her. She was reading the Proverbs yesterday about how wisdom is more important than riches. She said that it was hard watching people who were really bad get anything they wanted. It made her wonder about what she was choosing. She then cringed with that 'I don't really mean that deep down just a thought passing by' kind of way. She said she was not going to fully give over until she was sure. We told her that we had been struggling the last year with understanding our lives and circumstances in light of God and our search for Him. I shared with her a story about my own search past the hypocrisy.

Laura told her that maybe the fact that we were sitting there and talking to her about this was a sign that God was revealing Himself to her. She said that she believed many people were being put in her life, like her co-worker, to remind her and to keep her on the right track.

Trevor, thanks for being a great reminder to Elizabeth and to all the other people you come into contact with on a daily basis. Elizabeth, thanks for searching for the Truth and not giving in until you know it's true. Thanks Celebration Worship Center for being on the other side of Grand Rapids from our hotel and thanks Laura for suggesting Logan's. They are all big puzzle pieces on this scavenger hunt to find God. Thanks God for helping us look.

Love and Light,
Princess Angela