A $100 Sign of a Father’s Love at Cracker Barrel

Providential reminders are often subtle — even hidden in the math of a Cracker Barrel check

Since Cracker Barrel is in the news these days, I thought I’d relate a cute story that — somewhat uniquely — has nothing to do with the logo.

The year after my father died, Lisa and I drove from Florida up to Virginia with a few of our children to visit my mom.

Over the days we were with her, my mom kept saying that my dad had left some cash and she wanted us to take it to pay for some of our travel expenses. I kept resisting her offer. She tried to hand me a few $100 bills, but I kept handing them back to her.

But after she had mentioned this to me several times over several days, I had an idea.

You see, my dad loved Cracker Barrel — and everything about it. For a number of years, my dad would take my mom on a regular Thursday evening date to Cracker Barrel.

If someone asked me on a random Thursday night where my mom and dad were, I’d tell them, “It’s Thursday. They’re at Cracker Barrel.”

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