My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. In fact, I enjoy waking up early and getting breakfast. I don’t do it every morning, unfortunately, but there is never a bad breakfast in my opinion. Name the breakfast place and I love it: Cracker Barrel, IHOP, Victoria’s, Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, etc. In fact, once a week I go to Denny’s with two friends and enjoy an hour or so long breakfast that’s filled with coffee, eggs, fruit, French toast (sometimes), pancakes (occasionally), and of course, more coffee.

    

I am not sure how we ended making Denny’s our breakfast spot. When we made the decision to make breakfast our time to get together, Denny’s was not even on my radar.

 

I have nothing against Denny’s, but I was kind of hoping for something a tad more original, a bit more “diner-ish,” and even a dash more, umm…dingier. You know, sort of like one of my all-time favorites, Waffle House! If you have never been to a Waffle House – well, my friend, you need to get out more. But there is not a better place than Denny’s on Day Drive in Parma to get breakfast.

 

The food is not the best. The coffee is not always the freshest. However, the hospitality and the love for others make it worth going back every week. Don’t get me wrong, spending time with two good friends of mine is a great part of my week, but when I get to Denny’s early that one morning each week, I know there is someone there who is expecting us. Not because we are just customers.

 

How do I know this? Before we even get there, our waitress has set the table for us. Not just with silverware and a placemat – the table is completely set with our waters and coffee mugs and menus ready for us. No other table is ready like ours. As soon as we sit down the coffee is poured and our waitress is ready to take our order. Not that she even needs to take our order since she has it memorized. She knows what we like and even remembers what we don’t like or what we don’t finish so that the following week she reminds us not to order that again.

 

With all the flaws you might be thinking of Denny’s and even the flaws I have with Denny’s, I look forward to eating there every week because of the way our waitress shows us love.

 

I Peter 4:9-10 says: “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

I don’t know if she, our waitress, is a Christian, but every morning she “shows hospitality” in a way that God is glorified. We, as Christians, are called to show that hospitality to others in order that “God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” There are plenty of chances or opportunities for us to show that hospitality but the one that comes to my mind first is our Sunday morning experience. Are we, are you, expecting our guests? Ready to make our guests feel welcomed and loved? It starts with a good morning and concludes with looking forward to seeing you next week. Every church has the same “start” and “conclusion” as mentioned above, but what can we do in the in-between that will show hospitality and love for others?

 

The waitress from Denny’s who I only see once a week shows love and hospitality that we can all learn from and sets an example that not only we should follow, but also what we are called to do because of our love for Christ.