Unexpected Thanks

My alarm went off at 5:15 am this morning. I snoozed it...until 5:50 am.

I just didn't want to get up. I didn't want to drive my car forty minutes to go get the windshield fixed.

Wait. Yes I did. That dang crack just kept growing and growing.

"Put superglue on it," my husband said.

The crack said, "Ha! Superglue. Hold my drink and watch me crack even further."

Anyways. This story isn't to glorify that dang annoying crack that is now getting replaced, rather, this story is about the unexpected thanks and reminders of basic human goodness that still exist.

I dropped my car off and walked down the street to a nearby Starbucks. I passed some older folks talking on the sidewalk in front of a business enjoying their morning coffee. One of them had a sweet old German Shepperd that was decked out in an American flag bandana to match the owner's American flag shoes.

They were so kind that I found myself stopping to tell them about my morning. I marveled that in the midst of a busy street that has seen some, what's the word, unseemly events, they're coming together as they must do every Saturday morning, to shoot the breeze.

As I kept walking in the sunshine, I eventually found myself at Starbucks desperately needing a coffee as I had left mine on the counter. I had rushed out of the house this morning, running behind per usual (look, in hindsight, those extra three snooze buttons seemed totally worth it) and forgot my coffee on the counter.

Starbucks is Starbucks, right?

You walk in, look at the menu, share some words with the baristas, and watch for that caffeinated goodness (although, Worthy Coffee in McKenna is my all-time favoritest place to get coffee and be reminded that you matter, all at the same time!).

However, at this Starbucks, the one off Martin Way and Kingham Drive, was different.

What caught my eye when I walked in was a table set for a soldier that never returned home. I hesitated because this is Starbucks.

No offense to the place that started a coffee revolution in our state but usually when I walk into a Starbucks, it's corporate, it's the same.

The Starbucks I was in this past week when I had to be in Seattle, was plastered with all sorts of worldly things that made me feel, out of place.

Don't get me wrong. I choose to try and love how Jesus loved. To be accepting that this world needs Jesus but we shouldn't hate.

But to see America being honored, to see the fallen honored, to know that people still recognize the roots of this country, was very touching.

I can't begin to fathom the sacrifices made by those that never returned home. To think of giving my life for people that I don't know, to stand for values and morals that seem to be shrinking from a once very patriotic country, to leave a family behind to say, "I love this country," is something I just can't imagine.

I look at that table, the place set for a person that won't get to enjoy a warm meal again, that won't get to laugh or hug or say, "I love you" to the ones they held dear, and I think, thank you for making the choice that so many of us never could.

Thank you for being the brave.

Thank you for being the strong.

Thank you for being a hero.

Thank you.

You are missed.