The generosity of two diners who tipped their Cracker Barrel waitress $100 and gave an additional $6,000 toward school tuition has touched the hearts of many. The Lincoln, Nebraska waitress had shared the testimony of God's faithfulness in her life with them, and was taken aback by their response.
Abigail Sailors has the reputation of being the most cheerful waitress in her Cracker Barrel restaurant. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that two men initially requested the establishment's "grumpiest waiter," saying that they wanted to cheer someone up. Instead, the hostess sat them in Abigail's section - the 18-year-old who beams of God's love and faithfulness.
The gentlemen asked Abigail why she was so cheerful, and she proceeded to give them a little bit of her testimony. As an infant, Abigail's parents had gotten into a car accident that left her mother incapable of caring for them. She and her four other brothers and sisters were placed in the foster care system, and eventually ended up in a foster home together.
According to Abigail's older sister, Sydnie, the children suffered physical abuse for years under the father in the foster care home, who is now in prison. Abigail, Sydnie, and their brother went on to live with their biological father afterward, who was also subsequently arrested for abuse.
When she was around nine years old, Abigail was placed in the Sailors family home. She was raised there with much love and care, along with her brother, sister, and the Sailors' five other biological children. "I don't know how I would have turned out if I didn't have them," Abigail says - "They shaped the person I am today."
Abigail's simple response to the gentlemen's question was this - "I'm just thankful. Everything we went through, my attitude is [that] God blessed me with a lot of things. I'm doing good. That's all that matters to me."
Abigail also told the two gentlemen that she is now attending Trinity Bible College in North Dakota, where she hopes to major in youth ministry and psychology. Because she could not afford to attend school during the spring semester this year, Abigail had planned to save up and hopefully return to school in Fall 2014.
Upon hearing this, one of the gentlemen told her that he had graduated from Trinity Bible College. He proceeded to reach for his checkbook, and wrote her a $5,000 check for tuition. He also wrote a $1,000 check for her personal expenses, and left Abigail a $100 tip that she later shared with another server at the restaurant.
"I couldn't believe it," Abigail told the Lincoln Journal Star - "I tried to thank them, and they said, ‘Thank God.'"
