Awkward Moments 101

So shoot me for being blog-lazy.

Last night, however, I encountered one of the most awkward moments I've had in quite some time.
After attending a small worship service at a well-known Dallas-area church, the group my wife and I were with were invited to go to Fuddrucker's and eat. After a little thinking, we decided to take them up on the offer.

We got to Fudrucker's a little bit late, ordered our meal, and then sat down with some of these folks we had just met. While we're sitting, a younger guy (younger being 20-ish) asks me if I'm sad...What an icebreaker, right... So I tell him that I'm not sad, but that I'm just a little bit tired having been up since 6 or so that morning and that I was really hungry. So he kinda just shakes his head or whatever...

They call our names to pick up our food. I go through the condiment line, manage to drop my fully dressed burger on my foot (I was wearing sandals) and the people behind the counter are gracious enough to give me another burger (they actually upgraded me from the 1/3 lb. to the 1/2 lb.)

So we go sit back down and start eating and chatting with some folks that are about to start DTS. The usual. Then, pretty much out of nowhere this guy comes at me again... "So can I pray for you?" I just looked at him funny and he continues with, "Because you are really sad and, I mean....it may be too personal that you don't want to say what it is, but I can just pray for something unspoken...so I mean, would that be okay for me to pray for you right now?"

Ok - so - time out. I've got a mouth full of beef, sitting next to 4 or 5 people that I just met and this guy sitting 6 or 7 seats down the table is loudly speaking over the people between us and asking me if he can pray for me. Not just can he pray for me, but will I divulge the deep dark sadness that I'm emoting in front of everyone. Needless to say, the other conversations stop, and it's just me and him. And he's waiting for an answer.

I was inclined to say, "well, I'm sad, you see, 'cause I dropped my burger just a minute ago, but I'm okay now, because they gave me a new one."
But I didn't --- I just told him that I wasn't sad...but that I appreciated the gesture.

But he didn't drop it with that, he asked me if I was sure I wasn't sad. I said I was sure and then pretended that my fries were the most interesting looking things I'd ever seen and avoided any further eye contact.

I really believe the guy had the best of intentions....and I don't mean to rag on this guy. But isn't there some sort of "you've crossed the line" alarm that goes off in everyone - or have some people taken out the battery so it doesn't beep anymore?