The Wrong Place, The Wrong Time, The Wrong Line

I was standing in line at Taco Bell and a man with some physical handicaps was standing in front of me.  As I noticed the man’s physical challenges, I felt compassion.  I didn’t just look at him and basically ignore his condition while I examined the menu on the wall, something really did stir in my heart.  I thought, “What is it like to live with these kinds of challenges?”

While I was caught up in my personal moment of compassion on behalf of another one of God’s beloved creatures, the man turned his head and burped right in my face.  Really.  He did.  And it was one of those big, robust burps that shakes a person’s entire body.  Right in my face!  I could actually feel a slight breeze from his breath.

And then!  He looked at me as if I had done something wrong!!!  He gave me one of those, “Hey-pal-what-are-you-looking-at?” kind of looks.

“WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?!?” I thought, as I wiped the steam from my glasses.

What do you do in a situation like that?!?

Do you say, “Hey buddy, what’s wrong with you?”  And shake your fist, menacingly, at him?  I don’t know, that just doesn’t seem right.

Do you look him square in the eye and say an exaggerated and sarcastic, “Excuse me, oh Gassy One!!!”  Hmm, maybe it’s just me, but that doesn’t seem right, either.

Well, I merely frowned and shook my head and looked in another direction. 

I know.  That’s not much of a response.  I thought about this for the remainder of the day.  I wish I had a different story to report. One that involved witty dialogue, a few moments of swordplay, and then heartfelt expressions of forgiveness and grace, culminating in tearful hugs and pats on the back.

But that was another time, when a similar incident happened at Burger King.

There are two lessons to be learned:  First, sad but true, I guess people won’t always recognize, acknowledge and appreciate our feelings of compassion toward them.  Second, when standing in line…?  It’s not a bad idea to wear a helmet that has one of those plastic face shields.

P.S.  I was going to post a picture of the guy here—you know, for informational purposes—but I realized that would not be a very compassionate thing to do.  (The kid in line, in the posted picture, is not the guy who burped.  He’s just an innocent bystander.)