From Customer Complaint to Sacred Connection

From Customer Complaint to Sacred Connection

When grace shows up in the most unexpected places.

We recently had a customer reach out about exchanging a candle she ordered from us. Somehow, we missed her earlier emails—and understandably, she started getting frustrated. Eventually, she sent a message demanding that we call her as soon as possible.

Honestly, we were nervous. No one likes having to call an upset customer, especially when you know you dropped the ball. But I felt this unusual peace about it. So I said, “I’ll call her.”

I expected to be met with anger. Instead, I was met with kindness.

She turned out to be incredibly sweet. As we got to talking, I explained that around the time she received her order, my husband had suffered a stroke. That’s when her tone shifted even more. She was shocked and shared how a close friend of hers had also experienced a very severe stroke—but had made a miraculous recovery. She told me how her friend has become more joyful, warm, and open than ever before. Her whole personality changed. And her story gave me a glimpse of real, tangible hope.

Then she asked, gently, “Do you know God? Do you know Jesus?”

I told her that yes, we are Christians. I shared how the prayers of our community—friends, family, even strangers—have been the thing holding us up during this season. I told her how people literally all over the world had been interceding for us. I started crying.

She started crying too.

There we were: two strangers, both unexpectedly vulnerable, connected by pain and by faith. She prayed for me on the spot and asked for my husband’s name so she could keep praying.

And all I could think was…
This is not the call I was expecting.
But wow—what a call it turned out to be.

Sometimes the moments we dread become the exact places God shows up. Grace meets us in awkward phone calls, in misunderstood situations, in missed emails and nervous apologies. He wastes nothing—not even customer service mishaps.

So the next time you're nervous to face someone or fix something, remember this:
God can turn even a complaint into a divine appointment.