money

I am a server at an incredible barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Fiorella's JackStack and have been serving here for just over a year now. This is by far the nicest of the six restaurants I've ever worked in. My general manager likes to think he's funny from time to time (and he is). Last week I left one of the other manager's keys near a computer and thought I misplaced them, only to find out that the GM had placed them in a cup filled with bacon grease and orange soda. That one was sick… This morning was not so sick and got me thinking.

I was walking through the dining room and looked at our soda machines and recognized a problem. This is not a new problem, it's been there ever since I've worked here, but I thought I'd bring it up to the manager. He was in the office talking to one of the other servers and I opened the door telling him and the server that I apologized for interrupting, but it was an emergency. I told him, "We need to get rid of Mr. Pibb and get Dr. Pepper!" (I am infatuated with Dr. Pepper, and it's probably best that the restaurant doesn't have Dr. Pepper…) The server and he laughed, and then he told me that there actually is a Dr. Pepper hidden in the restaurant, and that if I found it he would buy my lunch. Not just any lunch… a porterhouse. That's 20 ounces of certified angus beef still on the bone, grilled to medium perfection with JackStack's steak rub with a plethora of side items ranging from steamed broccoli to cheesy potato bake. The game was on!!

He told me that he wouldn't tell me what form the Dr. Pepper was in, but that it was in the dining room. Seeing that our contract is with Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper is a Pepsi product, we don't carry it at all. I checked all of the stations we do our work in to see if any servers would leave one there, I checked the private dining room thinking that it could be in one of the many locations we keep canned soda. I looked up in the bar area where we keep all of the liquor thinking there might be some we keep for special mixed drinks. Nothing!

I went to ask him a question, and one way or another he told me that the Dr. Pepper had been here since the store opened, and it took him 3 years to find it. That made me think it might not actually be a container of Dr. Pepper (for that would be grody!), but a sign of some sort. The walls are decorated with collages of random material, some farm stuff, some household items… its really weird. I studied a few of the massive collages with no reward, but saw something written across a board on one of the last two collages. It had dark red paint and was nearly all scratched off, but you could still make out that glorious name. "DR. PEPPER!"

He was shocked I succeeded, and begrudgingly gave me the wonderful steak! Certainly I wouldn't finish the whole steak and three sides at once, so I only ate half. The massive T-Bone with steamed broccoli, fries, and hickory pit beans made up both my lunch and dinner and saved me from having to buy another meal at the restaurant or using some of my own groceries which I would then need to replace. Two free meals (made up of ridiculously quality food, mind you) is always greatly appreciated.

So what's the point? I realized, through my suppressed joy at not having to spend my own money, how dependant I am upon mammon. I have school debt to pay off, wedding things to attend to (honeymoon!), rent, everyday life, etc. For better or worse, mostly worse, my life is consumed with making money in order to spend it so that I can 'survive.'

Don't get me wrong, despite my proximity to the national poverty line, I'm terribly privileged. I have a warm apartment in a snowed in city. (Seriously Kansas City, you can't afford one snowplow?) I have a full pantry with more than the essentials. My fridge may not be the prettiest sight, but it isn't empty. Most of the world is far worse off than I. I just hate that so much of our lives is dictated by what we can and cannot afford. How am I supposed to truly participate in God's kingdom when so much of my life is defined by this piece of paper?

It is in these moments I find myself asking for grace. I remind myself that although God's kingdom has been inaugurated, it is not fully here. I find that I must still live IN this world…

Welp, I have to go back to work, and I'm way over 500 words. Thanks for reading. See you soon!

OTFIL

p.s. today is 11111…