Heard at Chick-fil-A's everywhere...and sometimes around here.

It’s no secret that Chick-fil-A is one of my favorite restaurants. It has been since I was a little girl and went to Jonesboro, GA to attend Vacation Bible School with my cousin. The owner of Chick-fil-A went to my cousin’s church and they served chicken sandwiches at one of the VBS events.

It was love at first bite.

I would have joined the church if I could. Didn’t matter about the preachin’ or the music…they served Chick-fil-A and that was good enough for me.

And when Chick-fil-A came to Little Rock, it was more than worth a trip to the mall to partake of my favorite fast food. And those waffle fries and “ice dream” cones. I just didn’t think it could get much better than that.

Bringing me great joy and happiness is the fact that Chick-fil-A is no longer just in the mall. There are two stand alone restaurants not too far from my house. For years I’d take our children there during the day…good food, clean playland, free refills of my Diet Coke.

And here’s the thing about Chick-fil-A. They have never, I repeat never, given me my order without saying “My Pleasure” when they hand it to me. And when I get my refill, or in some cases when I was particularly tired and needed a caffeine jolt- my third refill…again they would say “my pleasure.”

I loved hearing them say it so much. As a mom of small children you do a lot of serving other people and when someone acts like they are happy to serve you…well, it just does a moms heart good.

And then, the more I thought about it, I realized…you know what - it wouldn’t hurt things at all if I adopted the “my pleasure” attitude towards those that I serve.

Because truth be told, those Chick-fil-A employees surely don’t always feel like saying it. I’m sure they have days that exhaust them and customers that exasperate them. But still, they put on a smile. And no matter how repetitive or mundane the job of passing out chicken nuggets might be, they look at their customers and smile and say “my pleasure.”

Believe me, there are plenty of times I get exasperated with my peeps and we all know how repetitive and mundane it can be to mop the kitchen floor. But thinking about how it was truly “my pleasure” to serve my family really made a difference in my attitude.

And every now and then I like to toss the phrase around…really freak my family out.

Like when Bill thanks me for getting his dry cleaning? Telling him “it was my pleasure”. Or when a friend thanks me for keeping her kids…instead of “no big deal”, saying “it was my pleasure.”

And as I’ve said before, it’s not because I “have to”, but because I “get to.”

Don’t misunderstand, I don’t say it all the time and I certainly don’t even act like it all the time, but every time I pull in for my Chick-fil-A fix, I am again reminded of the “my pleasure” to serve you attitude.

I’m reminded that my husband and children really are gifts from God and that it is my pleasure to serve them. Colossians 3:17 says “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, and not just for everyone else.” And whatever means whatever. Not just the fun stuff or the things I like and enjoy doing…but whatever.

And the best part? The verse goes on to say when you serve others, you are serving the Lord.

And that truly is my pleasure.