Skip to main content

Check-in Time

Before kids, vacations involved an unsaid game of beating everyone else to the destination. But now, I've learned that if I compete with the GPS, their bladders or bellies will win. I feel a patience lesson coming on.

I certainly had a dose of it when we were checking in Sunday. Our scheduled time was 4 PM. We got here shortly after that and figured we were good. Wrong. One room was ready but the other wasn't. It was hot, kids were rambunctious, and the adults were getting ill.

Finally, around 5:30, we received a call that the other room was ready. I volunteered to go pick up the keys (partly out of chivalry, partly to get away from the chaos). The office was absolutely packed with people checking in and complaining. 

I finally made it to the front of the long line. The lady was stressed, yet apologetic & kind. I could have been rude (part of me wanted to). But you know what, I've been there before. I've been overwhelmed by work, customers, or circumstances. I've been doing my best to handle a bad situation and sometimes kindness and apologies are the only things we can offer.

Would you have given the attendant "what she deserved" or attempted to extend grace in the midst of this situation? I believe that being on that other side of the counter would change your answer.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2020 is Hindsight...Finally!

Wow, what a year! 2020 could literally be an entire decade, maybe more, of history, change, and lessons rolled up into these twelve months. While many aspects of 2020 were kind of sucky and we would like to forget them, it will certainly be a year to remember. And it will be enlightening when this year is looked back on in 10, 25, or 50 years to be discussed. I wonder if we'll seem like geniuses or idiots? Probably both to some extent! While there is so much that I could consider and analyze about this year, I'll try to break some of it down into four dimensions - Physical, Spiritual, Mental, and Social/Emotional. These are events and happenings from my world and perspective and I'm trying to be open in sharing and would love to hear from others on events you found most transforming. Physical When COVID cause gyms to close, that messed me up. Our town and state were late to be hit with severe cases and therefore later than many across the country to close up shop. I'm n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Worship > Fellowship

I believe that worship, true worship of God, is more important than fellowship with other believers.  Now I'm not saying that fellowship and relationships aren't important.  But I am saying that if I'm not worshiping God, if I'm not right with him, then my other relationships can't be right.  My fellowship and worship with him is more important than my relationship with my wife, my son, family, friends, my church, and my community.  Think about it.  How can I love my wife like Christ loved the church if I don't love Christ?  I wouldn't know how to love without knowing him.  Why should she submit to me if I'm not worth submitting to?  And yes I do believes wives should submit, but I also believe that won't be an issue as long as she's submitting to a godly husband.  (Ephesians 5:22-25) Our love for others must flow from our love and worship of God.  1 John 4:19-21 reads, "We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says,...
Post a Comment
Read more

The New Normal

When all of this COVID, Coronavirus, and pandemic talk first started, I literally got sick of hearing the phrase, "the new normal."  I heard sermons preached talking about what is normal.  I even preached one that I titled, "The Next Normal."  But what if these "new normal" people are actually onto something? When I was growing up, a normal summer consisted of a lot of time with Mom.  She was a school teacher so we were all out for several (probably stressful) months together.  She, my brother, and sister would spent countless hours at the pool and make several trips each year to stay at my aunt's house in the lower part of the state, about 30 minutes from the beach.  That was normal for me. But now, 30ish years or so later, life for my children (and their precious little grandchildren) looks very different - almost like there's a new normal in town.   My parents worked hard, sacrificed, and saved for years before purchasing a lake house in 2010 - ...
Post a Comment
Read more