Today started out not so good from the get go.  It wasn’t a “I woke up on the wrong side of the bed” kind of morning. It was something different.  Constantly doing stupid things, dropping keys, not able to find the right pair of socks.  It felt alot like I was trying to maneuver in a 90 MPH wind storm.

I went to the gym early today, which typically puts me in a good mood, but for some reason as soon as I got there I became really sad.  I have no idea why, but I was sad for some reason.  Have you ever had one of those days where you just “need a good cry”?  Well, that urge to have a good cry hit me at about the squat track of Body Pump.

I managed to make it through my workout, and on my way home I called my husband and asked him to pray for me because I had a sense that the day was not going to be good.

Went home got ready, made some breakfast, read some work emails on my iphone that didn’t make matters any better, finished getting ready, grabbed my iphone and the trash and left the house.  Took the trash to the dumpster, got in the car and saw that I was seconds from missing the green light to get out of my apartment complex.  Missing the green light after 7 am means you will wait about 10 minutes before you get another green light.  Not good for one needing to make a left hand turn.  By God’s grace I made it out of the complex with 2 seconds to go, and got to the next intersection that is also about a 10 minute wait.  As I was sitting there I realized that I didnt have my iphone.  I could’ve sworn I brought it down with me, but it was not in my car.  So I made a daring Uturn at the intersection and raced back to the apartment.

When I got back and parked, there was a scary unmarked white van with scary looking men inside just sitting in front of my building.  My freak-out radar went up immediately and I ran up the stairs to my apartment.  Once safely inside I began the search for the iphone which was NO where in the house.  Now I am really freaking out.  So I run back downstairs to check at the dumpster thinking that I had thrown the iphone out with the trash bag.  Luckily as soon as I got down stairs I saw my blessed iphone, on the ground, in between two parked cars, right in front of where the scary white van guys had been only moments ago(thankfully they were now gone).

Despite having found my iphone, outside, on the ground, in between two parked cars, I still found myself frustrated beyond belief.  I look down to the car dashboard and see that the GAS LIGHT has just come on and realizing that I have to drive 20 miles out to one of our new campuses later today I start off for the gas station.  But on my way decided to detour to the Starbucks at the Harris Teeter behind my house.  I felt I deserved a treat at this point, the day was so nutso I needed some caffeine to calm my nerves ( HA!).

I get inside, wait in line and take a breather after all the previous commotion surrounding the lost iphone. While waiting, I check my email again and see a devotion I get each day from a preacher in New York, the headline reads “GO AHEAD AND CRY” in all caps!

I almost lost it in line right there. But I didn’t…

When its my turn, the pleasantly cheerful barista took my order, “tall coffee,” and replied, “that is a very simple request.”  For some reason this made me laugh.  I said to him “if only all the requests were that easy.” He smiled, filled my tall to-go cup, took my money, made some silly joke about barter and trade that only made me laugh more.

I left the Starbucks this morning with a new perspective.  Sometimes, it only takes one cheerful, friendly soul to turn a sour morning sweet.  This guy was just doing his job, but unlike many in the customer service industry, this barrista’s service comes with a smile.  And that small kind gesture helped my attitude and my perspective take a major 180.

This got me thinking about how many lives I touch in a day, and how many (often missed) opportunities I have to be the pleasantly cheerful barista in someone else’s life?  Then I got to thinking how excellent customer service goes a loooooooooong way.

It really feels good to receive “service with a smile.”

Did the day get any better?  Well its only 9 am so we will see.  What I do know is that after my excellent encounter with cheerful customer service at the Starbucks, I am in a much more cheerful mood than I would’ve been otherwise…  Thinking now of my friendly experience at my neighborhood Starbucks instead of my rotten morning full of near misses.

So thanks Mr. Pleasantly Cheerful Starbucks Barista.  I hope someone makes your day today! And thanks Brian Walters, for praying for your wife:)  Maybe Mr. Barista was an Angel in disguise:)

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22