“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;”
(James 1:19)
As the plane landed, a voice came over the intercom: “If you are not in a hurry could you please sit and wait and allow others to deplane first to make their flight connections?” This little old lady immediately stood up and asked someone near her, “could you please get my bag down from up top”?
After she received her bag, she opened it up and pulled out a stick which when unfolded turned into a cane. The lady began getting out of her seat and making her way down the aisle using her cane to guide her up to the front of the plane. It didn’t take long to notice the old lady was blind and missed the announcement to wait.
When she got up to the front, she began to ask the flight attendant questions. “Do you have a wheel chair for me? Do you know what gate we are in? Do you know what gate I should go to? etc…. she went on and on. The flight attendant was very gracious with her but didn’t know all of her answers. In the meantime the whole plane of people trying to get off were being held up, including those needing to catch connecting flights. This lady, being blind of course, didn’t notice those waiting behind her and apparently was clueless to holding up many impatient passengers.
The pilot by now had come out and saw what was happening. He decided he would escort this sweet blind old lady off the plane, down the corridor, out to the gate where he could get her the help she needed. So he had her take his arm and led her out. She didn’t realize it was the pilot who had so graciously offered to assist her. I could hear her talking to him as they went. She complained all the way down to the gate, how terrible the flight was, how she didn’t understand why the pilot had to come on a loud microphone and announce the weather and other things she thought were unnecessary.
I was impressed with the airplane pilot. He didn’t react to her, he just listened with grace and got her to a person who could help her. As I watched her I was reminded that often we too are locked arm-in-arm with God as our Savior. He is always with us. After studying God’s name earlier from Kay Arthur’s book”The Names of God”, I was reminded, He is directing us and often we complain and forget or we are clueless as to who is ultimately guiding us, who is with us, to help us.
So I thought, “Who are we holding up or hurting because we didn’t listen or plan ahead of time? Are we blinded to others due to our own sin, pride or flesh?” But God graciously takes us by the hand and gets us to where we are, often in spite of ourselves. (Story told by a friend and edited by Sterling O’Neill)
So what can we learn? Next time you want to complain, stop and:
- Think and remember who is guiding you: If that lady had known that it was the pilot serving her would she have complained the way she did? Would she have thought twice before speaking? She may have couched it differently. It is okay to complain but we need to do it graciously and with respect. It might have even lessened her complaining to inquiring in hopes of understanding. Could she have changed her complaining to being thankful?
- Ask yourself, “What am I doing first that could or could not have helped the situation?”: This lady could have planned ahead to have the wheelchair waiting for her. She could have asked the flight attendant to help her before she even got on. She could have sought someone to help her understand her surroundings better and gotten the help she needed.
- What can you be thankful for in the situation before you go to complain?: This lady could have been more thankful for this pilot for even taking the time to lead her out. Instead of complaining she could have used the time to ask about him or ask him questions in order to understand the situation from his perspective.
4. Are you listening well?” Learn to ask questions before you complain. Usually what, where, and how questions arE better than why questions. If this lady had listened she would have avoided the situation of holding people up and waiting until all the people got off to be helped.
Personal Reflection: What part of the story did you like or glean from? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section of the blog “Pay Attention”.
From one pilgrim to another together on the journey,
”Consider how you may spur one another on towards love and good deeds….. encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
Please Reply in a gracious manner