I’m on my way to Little Rock AR to tape interviews with FamilyLife tomorrow. I sat next to a woman who was terrified of flying and I was able to talk with her and hopefully make her flight more pleasant. All was going very smoothly.
Then it was time to change planes in Dallas. The DFW airport is special to me because when James and I were engaged, he lived in Dallas and I lived in Virginia, so the airport was the place to meet my beloved.
I sat down to wait for my flight and wanted to move my prescription sunglasses from my carry on suitcase into my purse. That made my purse super bulky so I took out my Bible from my purse to finish up my reading. Then I put the Bible in my suitcase.
I boarded the plane. Then the nervous thought, where are my glasses?
I looked in my purse. Not there.
Oh no.
Did I leave them on the seat in the waiting area? Oh please God, may they be in my suitcase. They are expensive and I just got them a few months ago.
When I landed in Little Rock, I opened my suitcase and searched for them to no avail. They were gone. I had left them in Dallas.
My heart sunk. Last time I traveled to my publishers, I left a digital recorder in my hotel room. Now I’ve left my prescription glasses. James is going to stop letting me travel with anything valuable!
I stopped at the American Airlines ticket counter to call the Dallas gate to see if anyone had turned the glasses in. Before I left, the attendant asked me a very good question.
“You’re the 50th person to come today who has lost something. Most lose their iPads, notebooks, phones, so you are doing pretty good. Tell me something. Why do you travelers leave behind such valuable items?”
I said, “We’re distracted. We’re holding our water, purse, suitcase, looking around, and we forget things.”
He replied with emotion, “Forget everything else. Just FOCUS on what’s important: your wallet, your purse, and forget everything else.”
It made me realize that in life, we get distracted and we forget what’s most important and only holding on to that.
Our God. Our husbands. Our kids.
What a great lesson to understand before talking about marriage tomorrow. I hope now that I’ve gained this insight, lost and found will call me about my glasses!
