There’s
a line in a Rod Stewart song, “Every picture tells a story”. Well, there’s a line in this story
too….”Every person tells a story”….if we just care enough to listen.
My
wife and I have been working together in the same business for many years. Operating a small business is never easy, so
one of our long term traditions is to go to lunch together as often as
possible. It’s our quiet time together to talk, laugh, share problems or plan
our next adventure.
We go
to all the usual Mexican restaurants and pizza parlors, but we also look for places that have
something special about them besides just good food. Last Thursday we were
really busy and didn’t have much time for lunch, so we went to one of our
favorite places close to our office called Schlotzky’s Deli. The owner, Ali
Neaimi-Pour, greeted us with a smile as he always does. We ordered our food and
asked the usual, “How’s it going?” But his response caught me off guard, “Not
so good, but I keep praying!” I answered back with, “Well, that’s good, because
prayer works.” We didn’t have a lot of time, so we ate our lunch and hurried
back to work.
For
the rest of the day I couldn’t get Ali’s comment off my mind. On Saturday I had to drive down to my office
for some paperwork, so I made it a point to stop by Schlotzkys. I walked in and
ordered one of their great sandwiches and then paused to ask Ali a question.
“The other day, you mentioned you were praying. Is everything okay?” Ali didn’t
complain or go into detail. He just mentioned that his business was struggling because
so many other businesses in his retail center have failed due to the poor
economy. Fewer stores and fewer restaurants mean fewer overall customers. I’ve
noticed that problem with a lot of retail centers and I can only imagine how
much harder it makes it on the businesses that stay put, trying to survive.
I’ve also noticed how hard Ali and his wife, Mina, work every single day to
make their business successful and how positive Ali always is…. constantly
smiling…. and apparently constantly praying.
I couldn’t help it I just had to ask Ali what faith he was. Ali told me he was Muslim all his life. However, he said he converted to Christianity after moving to the United States and opening his restaurant about 10 years ago. He told me in a very matter of fact way, “I met Jesus when I moved here”. (That has to be a good story in and of itself!) His wife Mina has also converted to Christianity and they are raising three wonderful children together, Amir who is 27, Ayda who is 21 and attending college and little Nicholas who is only 9. So here we have a foreign born couple who immigrated to the United States to be able to start own business and raise a family. And oh yeah, along the way they “met Jesus”.
That’s
such a great story…. and I
know for a fact that there is a great story in every single person we meet…. if we just care enough to listen.
Ali's smile!
If we could all hear one another's prayers, God might be relieved of some of his burdens.
~Ashleigh Brilliant
Great post. I try to remember that everyone has a story to tell at any time of day. You just never know! Love Schlotzky's Deli and it's sad so many other food places are going out of business in that center. I'll keep it in mind to stop by there one day soon!
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