Life Lessons from Taco Bell-Part Two

Thanks for coming back for Life Lessons from Taco Bell-Part Two. If you missed Part One and want to read it first, click here.

There I was, sitting in Taco Bell eating lunch and sharing a crowded bench seat with two other family groups. Then I notice the phenomenon I am part of. To my left sits a man, his daughter and his two and a half year old granddaughter. To my right is a man and his twenty-something year old grandson. There is barely two feet between each group so it’s hard not to overhear their conversations.

 The bits and pieces I heard of the conversation on my right indicated these two worked together.  At first I thought they were boss and employee but later it became clear they were grandfather and grandson. Gramps did most of the talking at first, with the grandson listening intently, making few comments.

I was intrigued when Gramps started asking his grandson technical computer questions. The grandson’s eyes lit up as he answered the questions and made Social Media suggestions that might help the business. Grandpa listened to him as intently as the young man had listened to Grandpa only minutes earlier.

Their conversation moved away from business to a more personal level. They talked farm equipment for a little while. Apparently Gramps had given grandson a piece of equipment. Gramps asked how it was running and they discussed that for a couple of minutes.

I thought trouble was coming when Grandpa asked, “You are keeping it covered, aren’t you?” Somehow I knew the boy was going to answer in the negative. And he did. Uh oh, I thought to myself. Here it comes. To my amazement, I felt the wisdom radiating from this man as I heard him say, “It’s really none of my business. I had no right to even ask that question. I gave you the equipment and it’s yours to do with what you want.”

Grandpa continued the conversation by offering two real-life examples of why covering the equipment was a good idea. No condemnation, no insults, only a sharing of what had been learned in the school of life. It was a sweet, teaching moment.

It reminded me of the admonition in the Bible book of Deuteronomy. Fathers are to learn the ways and words of God and then teach them to their children at every opportunity: when they are at home, when they are walking, when they get up and when they go to bed. This Grandpa added: when they are eating together at a fast food restaurant. He didn’t stop with teaching his son/daughter, but went the extra mile and included his grandchild. The reward God promises for obedience in this is the multiplication of the days of the father and the child.

I’m praising God for allowing me to see this scripture come to life in a concrete and practical way and I am praying God’s reward for these men will be abundant.

I’m going out with joy today, ready to be taught-

Cathy