Customers invite me to Christmas and say I am their family

December 11, 2019

“I have worked at Chic-Fil-A for twenty years as a cashier and team leader. I love helping people and talking to them. I have been like this all of my life. A lady came in a couple of days ago and I told her how nice she looked. She came back this morning and couldn’t believe I remembered her. She was having a bad day and I lifted her up. Parents and grandparents bring their young kids here and I help order their food, fix their drinks and bring it to them. An older couple often comes in twice a week, the wife has dementia, and I get their order ready when I see them coming in. I told them I was going to be out for a week and they didn’t come back until I returned the next week. I learn the names of customers and what they like. They call and text me. I go to their events, their churches, and birthday parties. They invite me to Christmas and say I am in their family. I lost mom and dad and these customers make me feel loved and give me someone to talk to. I still miss my parents so much.

I started a second job at Dollar Tree. I work 40 hours a week at Chic-Fil-A and 20 hours a week at Dollar Tree. I will work 15 hours today, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. here and 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. there. I give my best to both jobs. The second job is my help because I don’t have anyone else and it pays for my healthcare. I am paying off the $600 deductible for the surgery I just had. Every doctor visit costs $50. It takes two jobs to survive.
I have been asking God what He wants me to do with my life? Should I be working a different job or serving people in another way?  I thank God every morning for waking me up and giving me one more day. I go through struggles and get tired, but I don’t bring those to work. I used to stress a lot, but I know God has me and I have to trust Him. Helping people makes my day and helps me through tough times.

Deatrice Abrams

(This is the twelfth story in the series “The Souls of Mobile,” with people nominated because of the good they do for the city. Their faces are now part of the mural “The Souls of Mobile” that Ginger Woechan painted on Hayley’s Bar on Dauphin Street in Mobile. This mural is a collaboration with the Mobile Arts Council.)

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