How many people can say that they met the love of their life at a fast food restaurant?

It was a very average day in late October, and Luke was busy doing the Lord’s work at Chick-Fil-A in Wheaton. He had just been promoted to a shift manager at the store, and he was tired from a week of many long shifts. So, he decided to watch over the front counter, a place that with only twenty minutes until close would almost guarantee a restful path forward until the tasks of closing the store beckoned.

Two girls walked into the restaurant at 9:45pm. Luke had seen one of these girls many times before, but never had the two of them interacted. The girl had once been involved in soccer training with Luke’s sister-in-law, from whom Luke first heard of this girl. Years later this girl would choose to attend Wheaton College. Luke and the girl passed each other many times throughout campus. From the training rooms, business buildings, and the science center to the cafeteria, they saw each other everywhere, but had never uttered a single word to the other.

He had always thought that this particular girl was especially beautiful, and we will chalk up Luke not mustering up the strength to say anything to her during their overlapping two years at Wheaton College to her “intimidating and intoxicating beauty”... not his lack of courage. This night was not much different for Luke. He did his job nervously, taking the girl’s order and messing it up a few times along the way.

It was apparent that Luke’s coworkers saw how nervous he was when taking the order of the beautiful girl. They immediately bombarded him with questions about who this girl was. Luke said he had no chance with her, so there was no use in pursuing any action. But one great friend of Luke’s, Sean’tela, could tell that there was something worth pursuing in this girl.

Needing no blessing or acknowledgement from Luke to take action, Sean’tela quickly gathered a few free shake coupons and scribbled Luke’s phone number on a napkin. She approached the girl and her friend. Tela told the girl a little bit about Luke and she told the girl to give him a call. (There is much more that was actually said, but I am not an omniscient narrator and I will not pretend to be one.)

When Luke heard of Tela’s actions, he hid in the back of the restaurant for the rest of the night until managerial duties called him to the front of the store, directly in sight of the girl. He was as nervous as ever and felt like a weenie for not having the guts to say anything to her. He went to bed that night hoping that she would text or call him. He had known about this girl for a little more than 4 years… this was as good of a shot to find “the one” as he had ever had. And the rest is history!