The Distinct Dot

“…a prison officer?”

That was the question I was asked on Saturday night. You’re probably wondering why I was asked this. Well on my way home from our Harvest festival at Bellshill Salvation Army, I went to the drive-thru at McDonalds with my Salvation Army uniform on!

I placed my order and drove round to the first window to pay for my order, got some strange looks from the guy that served me. After paying I continued onto the next window to pick up my order.

The guy in serving me brought over our drinks, did a bit of a double take on me when he noticed my uniform, and then went off again to get our food. After a minute he returned, without any food, and asked me the question, “What are you, a prison officer?”.

When folk had seen me in my Army uniform, I’ve been asked many things, been mistaken for a policewoman but never before a prison officer!

I told the guy that I was wearing a Salvation Army uniform as I’d just been at a meeting in Bellshill. He seemed surprised and thought about this for a few seconds before telling he read somewhere that if you were in the Salvation Army you couldn’t drink, and he then asked me if this was true. I told him this was true for those who chose to be members of the Salvation Army, however if you weren’t a member/soldier this rule did not apply.

His next question took me aback as I wasn’t expect it…He thought it must be very difficult not to drink alcohol so did I really not drink at all. This conversation was getting serious and so I hoped God would help me provide answers to this chap that would help him understand why I, and many other would choose to become members of the Salvation Army.

Usually when I get questioned like this I find myself stumbling for answers and giving very weak answers that do nothing but make the listener think I’m daft, but I believe God really guided me this time, as I found myself explaining to this guy why members of the Salvation Army do not drink, smoke or take non prescribed drugs. I also told him why I had chosen to abide by those rules when I become a Salvationist when I was eighteen.

I’m not quite sure how long I was actually chatting to this chap for, but it must have been about 5 minutes, as he’s already told me I’d need to wait 5 minutes for my order to be made up! When my order was ready and I was ready to leave, the guy told me it had been good to talk to me and that I’d given him something to think about!

Wow! What an amazing 5 minutes! Have I made a difference?

It just shows you never know where and when we may be able to be a witness for God. I just hope I did God and the Salvation Army justice. I will probably never know, however I’ve prayed for this guy since then, and I’d ask that you do the same, as I feel he was searching for something/someone to make a difference in his life, and I hope and pray that person may be God.

Here’s The International Staff Songsters of the Salvation Army singing And You Will Be My Witnesses, I hope you enjoy it:

Salvation Army soldiers (members) adopt a lifestyle free from alcohol and tobacco. They also abstain from addictive drugs except when medically prescribed.

Alcohol, like other addictive drugs, can be harmful to individuals, families and society. Salvationists are mindful that, while certain lifestyle choices may be legally and socially acceptable, some choices may be neither helpful to the person concerned, nor to those likely to be influenced by their actions.