restaurants, waiters and christians

i don't normally post my opinion about things, but i ran across this article today and it really struck a chord with me. it's called the Dreaded Church Table and was written by daniel holland and appeared in relevant magazine. the issue he writes about, christians and their behavior in restaurants, has long been a big pet peeve of both me and john. john waited tables at chili's off and on for several years and he always had this experience with christians, especially on sundays. i also waited tables the summer after i graduated college at a ranch in colorado and let me tell you, it is hard! john and i, because of our experiences, have always tried hard to tip well (at leasat 20%, or more if it calls for it) and be kind and courteous to waiters/waitresses. one thing i always like to do is look them in eye. since we've had caroline, we're even more aware b/c children are messy and hard to wait on...i try and make a conscious effort to clean up our table (including food that falls below caroline's chair) and leave it as neat as possible for the poor soul that has to clear it. this may seem silly, but i really feel it is such an easy and small thing to do to show the love of Christ to others. one sunday in particular, i went to applebee's with my parents, caroline and my niece and nephew, sarah and luke after church. my sister and her hubby were out of town and i was helping take care of the kids. the kids weren't particularly messy, but we cleaned up after them and made an effort to leave the table neat. the waiter was floored...he just looked at us and said "nobody ever does that, thank you so much". they're watching and they notice how we act...do we reflect Jesus or not?