PHOTO: Mary van Balen
When my alarm rang this morning, I struggled to leave the comfort of my warm bed. A schedule change required a half-hour drive for allergy shots before work rather than after. The day was gray and rainy. After visiting the doctor’s office, I decided to stop at a local Panera’s to pick up a breakfast sandwich and coffee; the drive to work was close to an hour and the day would be long.
A young man with the interesting nametag “RAF” cheerfully took my order, but when I reached for my wallet, it was not there. After rummaging through my purse for a few moments, I found my checkbook.
“I’m sorry. I left my wallet at home. May I pay with a check?”
“I’m not sure,” RAF answered. “This is only my second day on the job. Let me check.”
He came back shaking his head.
“I’m sorry. We don’t take checks.”
I put the checkbook back in my purse, resigned to a hungry morning before lunch.
“That’s ok. Thanks for checking,” I said, but before I could pull the zipper closed, RAF had an idea.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared into the kitchen, and when he returned he held his own wallet.
“Breakfast is on me,” he said, and flashed a brilliant smile.
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yep,” he replied as he swiped his credit card.
“I could write YOU a check,” I said.
“No,” he said, “Anyone would have done the same. This will be my good deed for the day.”
I have always found the workers at Panera’s restaurants pleasant, but I don’t think anyone would have done the same. RAF’s kindness touched my heart; energy replaced tiredness and the day ahead looked much brighter. Suddenly I remembered that I had put a small camera purchased just yesterday in my purse.
“Wait! I am an author and write a blog, and I bought this little camera for just such a moment. Would you mind,” I said to RAF and to his manager who had been listening, if I took a photo? I would like to put this on my blog tonight.”
They gave me the go ahead and you are reading the result. (RAF’s smile lit up the room, but the photo I took with the smile was a bit blurry: my fault, not the camera’s.) I found out that “RAF” stands for “Raphael,” an appropriate name for this young man. In the Catholic and Orthodox tradition, the angel, Raphael, appears in the Book of Tobit, and calling himself Azarias, he travels with the younger Tobias and heals the older Tobit of his blindness. Only after his good deed does he reveal that he is the angel Raphael.
“Raphael” from Hebrew means “It is God who heals.” Through his act of kindness to me this morning, Panera’s Raphael let God’s compassion shine through to a woman, definitely not a morning person, who was off to a rather bad start.
Coincidence or not, as I headed North for the hour drive to work, the sky was blue, and by the time I arrived at the department store, the clouds had changed from gray to pink and white.
I had to run from my car to clock in on time, and another sales clerk standing outside opened the door for me.
“Someone’s in a hurry,” she said and smiled as I thanked her.
Raphael’s kindness started a chain of goodness that lasted all day. I told his story to many of my customers and they left the counter smiling. The story helped as I struggled with a return, purchase, and gift receipts. The woman didn’t mind the long wait, but enjoyed hearing about RAF, and the recalcitrant register and my own mistakes didnt perturb me.
Thanks, Raphael. My day and the day of many others was brighter for your good deed! Panera’s is lucky to have you on its team.
©2010 Mary van Balen
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