The Blessing at IHop

I told this story a couple years ago in a devotional I wrote during the start of the pandemic, but I’ve never shared it here. The memories of it came flooding back to me as I sat at iHop this morning with some of my family. It’s one of those moments in life you just can’t forget because it’s just that good! Because God was clearly in the details.

One day as my younger brother, dad and I walked into iHop, my dad took out some coupons he had stored away in his wallet. He had two for iHop that would soon expire. He of course couldn’t use the two on the same meal, so he gave the extra one to the couple sitting next to us. The man smiled and thanked my dad. As we were ordering our food, the couple left and thanked my dad again. Shortly after we had finished we had asked for the check and as we did the waitress came over with the biggest smile on her face. She handed us a receipt and told us that the couple who were sitting next to us paid for our meal. Not just that, on the receipt they left a message for us saying, “Jesus Saves.” All three of us felt tears well up in our eyes in disbelief and gratitude. Something so small, like giving someone a coupon, ignited a beautiful act of kindness. 

The world needs this type of kindness more than ever, especially these days when so much of the world is falling apart. It really doesn’t take much. Maybe it’s an extra coupon you give someone. Maybe it’s $5 you venmo to a friend to treat themselves to a cup of coffee. Or maybe it’s as simple as sending an, “ I love you” text to a loved one just because. 

Pick a person you’d like to bless today, then comment below to let me know what you decided to do or how it went!