Grateful for the Cafe
Why I’m Grateful for Mars Hill Café
2018 has been quite the year, in a good way. So much has happened since I began officially as the general manager of Mars Hill Café back in January. As I type this evening, memories flood my head of all that has occurred so far—memories of which I am grateful.
The café has been a busy place so far this year—a very busy place—and as I take a few steps back and reflect on the business as a whole, I am reminded of how grateful I am to be in this position. It is refreshing medicine for my soul to be reminded of the many areas in which to thank the Lord, especially when work gets difficult, and we meet various trials in our food industry sector. The food industry can be a very challenging place to work. I have heard it said before that “All Christians should work in the food industry at some point in their lives.” After working for a decent amount of time in the industry, I can say that I agree. There are so many lessons to be learned about serving people and about working hard in this particular line of work.
While there are indeed new, sometimes unexpected challenges that we face, our daily tasks in this industry can become somewhat monotonous, and it is possible to become unaware or even calloused as to what God is doing in our particular workplace. It is oftentimes so easy to skip over thanking God for the opportunities He provides for us on the job, as we are usually wrapped up in the good endeavors of making food and coffee for customers. We can spend our days working tirelessly to create an excellent experience for our customers and mistakenly forget to reflect on how our Creator is using our work.
Upon some reflection this evening, I am reminded that God is not, in any way, disconnected or uninvolved in the daily affairs of our workplace, or any workplace for that matter. For this, I am very grateful! He is always working, laboring through everyday happenings to teach the staff and me many lessons that we will carry with us the rest of our lives. We have much to be grateful for at Mars Hill Café.
Growing up, I would not have ever imagined that I would be the general manager of a restaurant. Never was it on my radar, even though my business management degree might lead one to think otherwise. I could go into great detail about my selecting business management as my major in college, but I will save some ink and say that the reason was not that I was passionate about business at the time.
Mars Hill Café is a place I found myself working a year and four months ago. During a season of praying through what direction I should go after college, I was offered a job at the café. Ryan Parazine reached out and hired me with the intent of possibly training me up to slide into his general manager position at the end of 2017. It sounded like a neat opportunity (also a scary one), so I accepted the offer, and the journey began. During my time at the café so far, a lot has happened.
I have learned more about the degree that I pursued in college. I have gained experience as a leader. I have developed the skills of latte art, cooking, and customer interaction. I have been blessed with opportunities to grow in my relationship with the Lord through the ups and downs of daily business trials and interactions. I have had the great opportunity afforded to me, to meet so many customers and foster friendships with them. And last but far from least, I have had the incredible privilege of being trained initially by the lovely girl who became my wife a month ago. God has taught me many lessons here so far and given me many excellent experiences and blessings. There is great cause for me to be grateful.
I do believe that God is using Mars Hill Café and, for that reason, I am grateful to be a part of this ministry. I genuinely believe that people come into the café every single day with hungry stomachs and even more starved hearts, whether they know it or not. People are searching for answers. We want to be a gateway to people finding the answers that will lastingly satisfy their spiritual hunger. We make it our aim at the café to serve people quality food and service. We are thankful for our amazing staff for working so hard in this challenging endeavor! We believe that doing excellent work is indeed worship to God. The likely result of serving customers with excellence, giving them a good product is that they will return time and time again. This customer loyalty then means that we have the great privilege of learning their names and developing lasting, meaningful relationships with them. We aspire to be a beacon of light in the community that represents Mars Hill Church well and that points customers and employees to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope to exceed customer expectations by not only filling their stomachs but also by filling their hearts. That’s an endeavor worth pursuing, a journey only possible by the power of God.
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Mars Hill Church, take heart. God is using the café in some unique ways, and there is much about this little restaurant to be grateful for. Thank you to everyone who loves and supports the café. I hope this encourages you.
Come grab some food and cup of coffee!
Brett Glover- Manager Mars Hill Cafe’