Sep 21, 2016
by Donna S. Bond
with Everett C. Dickinson
“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance…”
- Proverbs 15:13 (KJV)
Her name was George. Whenever we visited a certain chain restaurant for Sunday breakfast she was there — post-retirement age and happy to welcome guests with a cheerful countenance.
Then one Sunday George wasn’t there. A replacement hostess merely asked, “Table for two?” before seating us. When we asked, “Where’s George?” she mumbled that George now worked for the competition.
Two months later we needed a “George-fix.” We found her at her new post. Here is her story:
When George reprimanded a trainee for playing on her cell phone at work, the young woman cried to the “Doogie Howser” manager, who summoned George into his office and, using the ultimate four-letter word as an adjective, accused her of not doing her job!
“The more I called him ‘Sir,’” she told us, “the more he cursed.” As the curses escalated along with references to her age, George left.
That same morning, George stopped for breakfast just down the street. She did not know that the manager there was one of her former trainees. The manager at the new place asked George what happened to her trademark smile. George related what had happened and was hired on the spot. Since that time, she reports, a number of customers have switched allegiance for a good meal and a cheerful welcome.
A few months after we met George in her new domain, Pastor Everett Dickinson related to the Shiloh congregation his experience with George.
Two simple questions from Everett and wife, Linda, got the following responses:
Q: “Where did you get your nickname ‘George’?”
A: “George is my official given name because my dad wanted a boy.”
Q: “Why are you always so cheerful?”
A: “Twenty years ago when I underwent surgery, I saw a warm and welcoming light and felt myself moving toward it. I met my father, who kissed me and said, ‘You have to go back, honey. It’s not your turn yet.’ Then I became aware of all the people working on me in the operating room. When I tried to tell my doctor about my strange dream, he said, ‘George, you weren’t in any condition to dream. Your heart stopped and we had to shock you eight times to get you back.’ That’s why I feel so full of joy. God wasn’t done with me yet and gave me another chance at life. How can I not be happy? I feel like it’s my job to try to make people smile and laugh…to bring a little joy to their lives, too.”
Thus George’s cheerful countenance is legendary not only in the Lancaster, PA, area, but also in Shiloh, NJ, one hundred miles away!
P.S. The restaurant where we first met George was out of business the next time we visited Lancaster.
