Years ago I missed a huge red flag while my husband, daughter and I were checking in at the Houston airport. We were flying to Paris where my husband Mike had some business meetings. My teen-aged daughter and I were going along for a vacation.
As we arrived at the airport, our airline suddenly experienced a power outage. Ticketing machines stopped working.
While passenger lines grew longer and longer, airline attendants struggled to manually check our bags.
My husband was a well-seasoned traveler, so he was accustomed to delays and had a keen sense of how long it would take to get through security, walk to a gate, and board a plane.
“Will we make it?” I asked.
He barely nodded and flashed a brief look of concern, but I took his positive response to mean I didn’t have a thing to worry about.
After a lengthy wait and a bump to the front of the lines with the help of frequent flier perks, we got our luggage checked.
Running like the wind, we made it to security and finally boarded our flight.
When we arrived in Paris and made our way to baggage claim, I noted a look of concern on my husband’s face again. But he was hustling two women through an airport. Who wouldn’t be concerned?
Hair today and gone tomorrow
At the baggage conveyer belt, two of our three suitcases arrived immediately.
We stood waiting for the third suitcase.
And then the conveyer belt stopped.
About fifty other passengers from our flight stood nearby. We all exchanged bewildered looks while we waited for a very still and eerily quiet conveyer belt to crank up again.
That’s when I understood why my husband’s face had registered concern. As a million-mile traveler, he knew manual baggage checks could bring disaster.
With a grim face he said, “I don’t think the other suitcase is coming.”
Not one passenger had moved from the conveyer belt, but I knew we were all thinking the same thing:
We can’t be dealing with LOST LUGGAGE!
An expert at airport maneuvers, my husband quickly motioned me to the lost baggage claim desk so I would be first in line.
While I waited, my husband and daughter inventoried our luggage to see which piece was missing. That’s when the horrified looks on their faces exposed the awful truth:
the third suitcase was MINE!
They knew what was coming.
Our trip was ruined.
It wasn’t my toothbrush (I knew the hotel was good for an extra one). And it wasn’t the makeup (I knew I could rummage through my daughter’s supply and make myself presentable).
IT WAS THE HAIRSPRAY!
We had a full agenda for our first day in Paris, it was late at night, and there was no time to run down a can of hairspray. I was mortified at the thought of spending my first day in Paris with a flat head of hair!
I’d spent a week on a mission trip in Honduras without a blow dryer and I’d chaperoned youth camp without so much as a curling iron . But in both cases I’d used an arsenal of hair spray to scrunch and fluff my hair to keep it from going flat. I’d never been without my hairspray!
My family knew this was a traumatic event.
The three of us stood in disbelief at the baggage claim area of Charles de Gaulle airport, contemplating our lot in life.
My husband solemnly confessed he would have given up his suitcase for mine if he could have. My daughter offered up her clothes, pajamas, and even her toothbrush.
In spite of their heartfelt offerings, I felt myself spiraling into a pit of self-pity.
To be honest, I wanted to scream. Or just throw a genuine tantrum.
Instead, I started whining.
But when I saw my daughter’s downcast face, I knew I had to stop whining and get over myself.
This trip wasn’t just about me and my hair. My daughter and I were both excited about spending a week in Paris, and I didn’t want my whiny attitude to ruin it.
With every bit of gumption I had in me, I swallowed hard and thought about a Bible study I’d taught the week before. It basically said that God expects us to stop complaining and be grateful.
Always.
No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
I admit I may have rolled my eyes, but I took a deep breath and decided to practice what I teach.
I made a mental list of all the things I could be thankful for:
- My teen-aged daughter wanted to spend an entire week with me!
- We had arrived safely.
- We were all healthy.
- Paris beckoned.
A lesson in how to stop complaining and be grateful
The next morning, I donned my daughter’s sweat pants (the only “big” enough clothes she could find in her luggage to fit me). I came really close to trying perfume (I mean, it’s sticky, isn’t it?) to get a little vavoom in my flat-as-a-pancake hair. And all the while, I worked really hard to keep smiling.
My new attitude of gratitude was working. Maybe I really could stop complaining and be grateful.
By the time we made it to the hotel elevator for our first Paris adventure, my list of gratitudes had grown.
The sense of adventure, the smile on my daughter’s face, the comfortable shoes on my feet…they were all reasons to be thankful. In fact, they were reasons to celebrate!
I can’t honestly say I forgot about myself or what I looked like. But my lost luggage and my treasured hairspray were no longer the most important things on my mind.
Later that evening, we took a boat ride on the Seine River. I felt a new freedom as my loose, unsprayed hair blew in the breeze.
Then, during the walk back to our hotel, it began to sprinkle. I felt absolutely giddy as I walked without an umbrella. For the first time in forever I didn’t have to worry about my hair getting sticky in the rain!
By the time my suitcase arrived that night, I had learned a lot about gratitude:
1. It’s natural to start whining. But we can choose to respond supernaturally.
When life gets uncomfortable or undesirable, it’s natural to focus on how I feel, what I want, or how unfair it is that life isn’t going my way.
But instead of acting naturally (whining and pouting), the Bible calls us to respond SUPERnaturally. And we can do that because the Spirit of God is alive in every Christian. He empowers us to supernaturally choose joy when every pore of our being wants to throw a pity party.
2. A grateful heart is more appealing than even a beautifully coifed head of hair.
My family wasn’t affected by my flat head. But their day would have been ruined by a whining attitude. Sometimes a determination to stop complaining and be grateful is the most loving thing we can do for the people around us.
3. An undesirable circumstance can turn into a reason to celebrate if we intentionally choose to be thankful.
Someone wisely said We are always one decision away from joy. We’re also one decision away from being grateful rather than whining.
As much as I love my hairspray, I’m grateful for the lesson I learned in Paris without it. When my default is to start whining, I can choose to stop complaining and be grateful. Gratitude may not make my hair look any better, but it sure makes for a more beautiful heart.
By the way, I’m always up for advice about the best can of hairspray! What’s your favorite?
Absolutely what I need to be reminded of. Some days this is easier than others. On those “others” days, I want it to be at the forefront of my thoughts. Love the analogy.
You always inspire me with your grateful spirit:)