I sat down and plugged in my laptop. I had never stopped into this restaurant for coffee, let alone to work. But I had some unexpected time on my hands. I had just rolled off of a dream project. One that drew equally from my professional and personal passions, enabling a transformative vision, for a client who I truly loved working with. It was this kind of work that makes people like me do what we do. But my work was done.

For the first time in my career, I found myself on the bench. - It wasn't going well.

I took it upon myself to use my bench time try to develop new, local opportunities for our sales team. As I drank my coffee and surveyed my network, I overheard the words of what I immediately understood to be a very talented leader counseling his team. It was glorious. I had spent the weeks prior interviewing retail and service franchise owners, looking for insights that would help me in my mission to empower servant leadership through remarkably intelligent digital experiences. I had stumbled across the best subject I could've ever hoped to visit with. I heard this young man speak about the importance of nurturing your operational intuition. I took notes.

By the time his company left, I had already decided that I was going to introduce myself and meet this impressive young man. I had little to offer him in return, other than my acquaintance, but still I felt uncommonly compelled. Ryan was very cordial and, surprisingly, seemed as interested in me and my experience as I was in him and his. He had to return to work, but after a short exchange we agreed to meet back at the same table for coffee, first-thing Monday morning.

The following day, I received the news that there was no longer an opportunity for my role in our market; effective immediately. I spent the weekend devastated. I have so much passion for what I do. But more importantly, I am an impossibly proud father. In fact, we had just welcomed blessing number 5 just four months prior. I was in the middle of cancer treatments and my oldest was applying to universities. I simply didn't know how I was going to deal with this blow. That weekend was rough. It felt very long, and at times, very bleak.

By Monday morning, I had managed to pump myself up and feel excited about my new "opportunity". While I had waffled on it over the weekend, I had decided that I would indeed start my week off with a cup of coffee and good company. Early into our visit, I let Ryan know that some things had changed on my end, professionally speaking, and that I hoped he didn't mind me calling an audible on the shop talk. He let me off the hook, saying that he honestly wanted to learn more about me as a person. I was caught off-guard.

We shared our backgrounds and told some war stories. Ryan told me that in addition to his current job, he also waits tables on the weekend. It must have been obvious by the look I returned that I didn't understand. Ryan responded by telling me about the obstacles he had faced over the last few years. Sure, there were financial struggles among them, but that wasn't the reason he was pulling doubles as a server. He was pulling doubles because he had been called to serve - quite literally. It was then, as he shared his motivation, that I truly understood the source and strength of Ryan's dedication to service.

Ryan had reached a point in his life where the strength of God's love had subdued him, and he surrendered - in every way. He was happy. And I mean visibly happy. With good reason. Ryan and his wife will welcome their first child in December! Mere minutes out of diaper duty myself, I could relate and was so excited to tell him about the joys that await them both. He shared the sentiment, offering me words of encouragement as started day 1 of my new journey. And then he asked to pray for me.

By then end of that cup of coffee, I had accepted an invitation from Ryan, on behalf of my family, to join him and his at church the following Sunday. This Sunday will be our fourth consecutive service with our new friends. Most importantly, it will be another opportunity for this formerly pronounced atheist to continue in my journey to be closer to God.

I'm still looking for my next professional opportunity. But I have discovered a personal passion unlike any other. I will always be grateful that I allowed God to lead me that day, and that he led Ryan to follow his own warm-hearted impulse.

I visit that restaurant a bit more these days. And should you find yourself out this way, I hope you'll consider being my guest. You probably know the place. Their chicken sandwiches are legendary. But that coffee... It's life-changing.

--------

Ryan Lamb is Sr. Director of Operations at Chick-fil-A in Roanoke, TX. Our families attend Milestone Church in Keller, Texas.

Karridy Askenasy is a customer-obsessed, Digital Product and Experience Strategist in Fort Worth, Texas. When he's not crafting digital solutions, he enjoys playing music with his family, and getting destroyed by his kids in Fortnite.



