What Happens When You Give Up a Table?

I didn't plan any of this. And oftentimes the coolest things happen without a plan.

Becca and I were staying at her mom's place in Melbourne, Florida during a road trip south. I'd been working from a coffee shop called Lucky Goat Coffee in Rockledge. One morning I grabbed a seat at a six-top table. A few minutes later, a group of young people walked in together. They needed a table. So I gave them mine.

That was the whole thing. A ten-second choice. One of them, Mason, came over and introduced himself. We chatted briefly. The next morning, Mason showed up with two others, Eric and Shakey. The three of them are planting a church together called Lost and Found Florida.

For almost three hours, we talked about God, Jesus, faith, the devil, self-preservation, pride, disconnection, love, and choice. We did not agree on everything. And that was completely okay.

Mason described his faith as relationship, not religion. Eric walked me through the idea that the Word of God isn't a book but a person. And when I asked why God would allow the possibility of evil, Eric's answer was simple. You can't have love without choice. If you're forced to love, it isn't love. That line runs right through everything I've been exploring on this adventure.

Each of them shared how they came to faith. Through addiction. Through violence and loss. Through seasons of living two lives. None of their paths were simple or inherited passively.

I walked into Lucky Goat Coffee as a stranger. I walked out with three new friends, a head full of beautiful thoughts, and the clear sense that something happened in that room that was bigger than any of us. That's what happens when you give up the table.

Read the full piece on Substack.

Learn more about the adventure at www.heart-strong.org