Cheese Curds and a Strawberry Milkshake

I have become all things to all men that by all means I may save some.

_Paul the Apostle, (1 Corinthians 9:22)

In my last blog I shared a “papa story” about my granddaughter Ruby. 

You know how it is when grandparents start talking about their grandchildren…it’s hard (impossible?) to get them to stop.  But I promise, just one more…for now.

This story is about my grandson Rory.

The weekend my daughter and her children were visiting with us, Rory joined me on my Sunday preaching appointment and the girls stayed home and went to a local church.

I promised Rory that after church I’d take him anywhere he wanted to go for Sunday lunch and get him anything he wanted. 

It was just us guys, no well-meaning but zealously health-conscious women to remind us what we ought to be eating.  It was a perfect opportunity! 

I had visions of buying Rory his first really good steak or maybe expose a boy whose concept of “good pizza” is Little Cesars to the universe of “real” pizzas.  I had all kinds of options swirling around in my mind.  Nothing but the best for my grandson on this very special road trip.  It was going to be great!

So where did we end up?

My title gives it away…

We ended up eating at a DQ in a little Southern Illinois town named Pinckneyville.  And Rory’s ideal of a “best” Sunday lunch was cheese curds and a strawberry milkshake.  That’s it.  Out of all the things in the world and all the restaurants in Illinois that we could have eaten, Rory wanted cheese curds and a strawberry milkshake and specifically at a DQ.

When Rory shared his heart’s desire for Sunday lunch I must admit I was disappointed.  His expectations and mine were miles (and years) apart. 

To be honest, I almost played the adult trump card and overruled him…but then I remembered the mission.  The mission was not eating a meal that I wanted, the mission was not really about eating a meal at all.  The mission was about creating a special memory with my grandson by allowing him to choose where we got to eat Sunday lunch. 

It was the right decision.  You’ve never seen a happier eleven-year boy sitting there in that DQ in that small southern Illinois town on a Sunday afternoon.  It made my day and created a shared memory that the two of us will always have.  And the cheese curds were not bad either and how can you go wrong with a strawberry milkshake?   

The ONE THING for today: People have a way of disappointing you sometimes.  Their expectations and yours can be miles apart.  But life is so short…don’t let the wrong things become the main thing…remember the mission.

Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Unsplash