August 18, 2024
“Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God for everything.” Ephesians 5:18-20 NIV Adapted
We discovered a little slice of heaven at the Waffle House near Olympic Park in Atlanta. Anne-Sophie wanted waffles for breakfast, and I wanted a good deal, so we ate breakfast our last morning in Atlanta at the Waffle House. The place was rocking for 8:15 in the morning. The scents of bacon, coffee, waffles and maple syrup wafted towards us, and an amazingly confident, welcoming, middle-aged server stood at the counter, singing along with the tunes in a lilting soul-filled voice, barely missing a note as she took our order – two chocolate chip waffles, one plain waffle, three sides of bacon, two milks, a coffee and water. I found myself smiling and joyful and wanting to sing along to the familiar tune.
The same woman brought our drinks, with a side of smiles and three Waffle House paper hats for us to wear. She proudly placed the hats on our heads, and as I grabbed my cellphone to take a photo she snapped it up and took several of us.
She, the food, the music, and the hats wrapped us in joy to start our day off to a great start. I one, left with a full stomach, a grateful heart, and a Motown tune on my lips. No wonder St. Paul encourages the saints in Ephesus to “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God for everything.” For a moment, I wondered if St. Paul had been imagining the same thing from his prison cell in Rome as music and love radiated from her to us in a Waffle House of all places. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 