Thursday, July 10, 2014

Dear God,

You teach us valuable lessons and urge us to live accordingly.

I did a really stupid thing.  I put down my laptop to take a picture and forgot to pick it back up.  I was riding the escalator downstairs to the airport baggage claim when I realized what I had done.  I tossed my purse and camera case to my granddaughters and I raced up the up escalator three steps at a time running as fast as I could to security check in.  I cried out to the security agent that I had done a stupid thing but I was so out of breath I couldn't say more.  Several security guards stared at me.  When she asked me for my boarding pass and ID, I finally told her I had given them to my granddaughters.  I had nothing with me.

On the last leg of our trip, my two teenage granddaughters and I had to go to the bathroom but none of us were very comfortable getting out of our airplane seat, walking down the narrow aisle, and using the plane facilities. We all decided to wait out the ride.  It was more than an hour later when we departed the plane all three of us running for the nearest restroom.  It was while I was washing my hands that I decided to take a last photo, a shot of a toilet stall.  I told the girls it would make a nice last picture in the photograph album.  Since there were others in the restroom they begged me not to but, of course, being a fun grandma I framed the shot and took the picture.  The rest is history.  I forgot my laptop.

As I stood at the security checkpoint trying to calm my racing heart, I heard an announcement asking the person who left their computer to contact security.  "My computer, that's my computer!" I shouted.  I shared with the agent what I had done, I mean the picture and all.  I told her all my writings, my retreat materials, devotionals, and more I want to publish were contained in that laptop, and I apologized and apologized.  She called a number and asked me to go to a phone down the hall and around the corner.  I dialed the number and answered all the questions about the computer.  I had troubles telling her what was on my homepage because I couldn't even think what a homepage was. Finally, I described the picture that usually pops up and told her to look at the spot on the top of the laptop where I had gotten too close to a candle which melted the plastic.  I thought she told me to go back to security.  So I did. I waited and waited watching for a security guard to bring me the laptop. Several guards came over to me hanging out at the entrance with no purse, nothing.  "What's going on?"  Each would ask me. I told my story over and over again. Finally, I went back to the phone and called again.  She asked me about my location and I told her it was the same phone I used earlier.  She asked me to turn around to see her waving to me.  "I wondered where you were."  She said as I reached out to pick up my belonging.  I thanked her and apologized once again.

I realized I had created a great stir.  I realized the danger I probably caused by an item left by itself. I realized my error of dropping everything and running to security without a document.  I realized how my scattered brain made me forget the laptop.  I realized even how silly I was to take my picture; however, that toilet picture will give us a story to laugh about for a very long time.

Thank you
for teaching me
a valuable lesson,
O Lord.
Teach me
to pause
and think
and act responsibly.
Thank you
for grace
and airport security personnel.

Love always, Andrea