“I think I need Jesus!”

I’m tearing up as I write this. Two girls were sitting at a table when their waitress Riley commented on how beautiful their energy was. The girls replied, “Thank you very much but that’s not really us, but God in us.” Riley responded, “Oh, that’s cute.” What happened next is incredible!

The girls would return to the restaurant and eventually exchange phone numbers with Riley.

Fast forward seven months and Riley was on a psychedelic mushroom trip, alone, depressed and having a mental breakdown. She thought, “I hate myself and my life. I can’t keep living like this any more!”

The next day she wrote in her journal, “I think I need Jesus.” She had saved the numbers of the girls in the restaurant and called one of them, saying, “Hey Jacqui, it’s Riley, your waitress from the restaurant. I think I need Jesus but I don’t know where to start. Can you help me out?” Jacqui shared the gospel with her and the next day Riley accepted Christ. She told us, “My life has transformed so fast ever since that moment.”

After hearing Riley’s testimony, we baptized her in our backyard. It was a holy moment. One I will always cherish.

We never know the impact Christ in us can have on someone’s life. Those two girls thought they were just going to a restaurant for a meal that day. Little did they know God had other plans for them — to use them to help a lost and lonely young woman meet the love of her life—Jesus!

Christ followers are to be appetizers, giving others a taste of the goodness of God. Riley got a small taste of Jesus that day in the restaurant and now she can’t get enough of Him. She even went on a summer mission trip to Ocean City, NJ, sharing her new-found faith with people on the beach.

Riley no longer hates her life. Her smile radiates the joy inside her. She’s also no longer serving food to customers at the restaurant. Riley is now serving hungry people something far better—Jesus, the Bread of Life!

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:39