AN AMBASSADOR
This is me with my baby brothers out in Arizona. It's the first picture I can remember ever being taken of just us kids. I wish we had one with us and Randy, but we'll see him in heaven. It was great to see family, but my aunt Lee was in the hospital the whole time with heart problems, but she's doing better. We flew home on Sunday, and that's where things got, um, tricky. LOL
Ever since I've been a Christian, I've tried to remember the admonishment to be an ambassador for Christ. I realized on our trip just how important the image we project really is. The day started out great. Got up in time, Mark made us a killer breakfast, no traffic on the way to the airport. The security line was a little long but we got back to our gate in plenty of time. Then we saw the board. Estimated departure time: 1:00 pm. Our schedule was to leave at 9:50 a.m. Over 3 hours! I approached the desk and asked if we should try to reschedule for another flight. I had a baby granddaughter to go see, after all. :-) The US Airways agent told me it really shouldn't be that long because they were getting us a different plane. I found a seat with Dave and prepared to wait a bit.
There was a group behind us who were business travelers. One guy was loudly complaining that he got stuck in a middle seat. This had happened even before we got a smaller plane so I'm not sure what the problem was initially unless he didn't get to select his seat because of overbooking. The agent was inundated with irate customers. The one gal, Donna, handled them all with grace and a sweet spirit. I suspected she might be a Christian. After things calmed down, I went up and told her and the others they were doing a great job in such stressful circumstances. When I got back to my seat, I heard one of the other men in the party say, "They wouldn't dare move me because I'm the chairman." I immediately thought about what Jesus would have done. He wouldn't have lorded it over the others in the party because of his stature. He would have given up his seat. The chairman was a smaller man who wouldn't have been nearly as uncomfortable in that middle seat.
The agent changed our gate when they got us a plane. At that gate, the complaining passenger loudly demanded to be moved as well. The agent told him there was nowhere to move him since the plane was actually smaller. We got moved to a different plane and a different gate. He also yelled at that agent and demanded to be moved from the middle seat. By now Dave and I were watching in fascination as the drama continued to escalate with him getting madder and madder. The agent finally agreed to keep his ticket in case there was a cancellation. There wasn't. LOL Every seat was totally full, and as boarding was announced, he stalked back to the counter to snatch his ticket from the agent and take his seat on the plane.
I would like to have thrown a tantrum too. After all, I wasn't going to see Punky on Sunday after all. But the man's behavior was a stark reminder that the world is watching. People can tell a lot about our inner character by watching what we do and say. Now if I can just remember that the next time a plane gets cancelled. LOL
What about you? Is there anything that pushes your buttons that you have to watch? Or is there a situation you are proud of how you acted? Or one in which you aren't so proud and resolved to do better?
Labels: cancelled flight, US Airways
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10 Comments:
OUCH!! Excellent post, Colleen. I had a similar reminder yesterday. Had the *worst* treatment from a postal worker. I was in tears by the time I left, and all I wanted to do was report him. But I just felt this niggling holding me back. Instead of getting a manager or emailing a nasty-gram to the Post Office, I prayed for him and prayed that if (I got frustrated with him at one point) I had added to his bad day, that God would forgive me. I wish I'd gone back and given him a $5 gift card to Starbucks too. LOL
Good for you, Ronie! I'm impressed. :-)
LOL...after flying US Air I can just say...thank God you got another plane! Obviously the first one had problems :-(
Years ago I learned a soft answer turns away wrath. It's almost fun to watch their balloon deflate, when someone looking for an argument meets up with a soft reply. :)
On Saturday I went off to Walmart to get a few groceries. Not much. Only about $12 worth, but it may as well of been $1200 worth, because my wallet was sitting home & not in my purse. (Don't ask). I told the cashier I could get home and back in 20 min. Could I please leave my bags there and I'd return with the money? She said yes, and off I went to the races. I was back in 20 minutes, but she wasn't at the station. The man who was there said, "Oh I saw those bags. She left with them a few minutes ago to return the items."
All I said was, "I guess she didn't believe me when I said I was coming back." Inside I was upset, but God helped me to stay calm. He also reminded me that it was my mistake for leaving the money at home, not hers I never saw the clerk, but thankfully I still had the list in my pocket & managed to get everything I had gathered last time again.
The old me would have had some snarky thing to say to the man who had nothing to do with the situation, and I told myself that maybe she would've been in trouble if she'd left them there. Of course it would have been nice if she'd warned me of that. But in the scope of things, it really was a small blip on the radar screen.
I thank God for the calmness only the Holy Spirit provided me.
So true about the soft answer, Ane! I try to remember that one too.
Wow, I'm impressed, Pam! :-)
Wow, Colleen, what a great picture! You look fantastic!
And yes, I've been grumpy a lot lately. I try to take it out on inanimate objects when I'm at home alone, but Mel hears me gripe a lot about the pain and inconvenience. I keep reminding myself that this is a time of spiritual growth with the recovery. I'm frustrated because i can't drive--I actually did drive to physical therapy today, and shouldn't have, but I have a lot of trouble asking for help. So I'll have to suck it up and ask next time. And quit griping, even to the cats.
I have actually made a point to smile at everyone I pass in any store who makes eye contact with me. Sometimes they smile back, but I get those odd stares of people who think I've lost my mind when I smile at them. By doing so, I've kept myself from losing my cool and getting irritated with slow people. I figure, those who smile back, or not, needed to see it. You never know what's going on in their lives and one stranger smiling at them could make their day a bit better.
It certainly makes mine.
Colleen:
When I am stressed, I sometimes show it. I used to get stressed when my hubby was demanding something from the pharmacy area at CVS. I would get all bent out of shape because what hubby wanted done couldn't happen. We started going to a different church and found out one of the men there worked as a pharmacy tech there. Talk about feeling terrible about my witness.
It doesn't completely remove the bad impression (if we lose our tempers), but saying, "I'm sorry, I was wrong" goes a long way to patching things up or smoothing ruffled feathers.
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