A French Apology

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a series of unfortunate events and responded in the flesh? On Sunday, May 11, 2025, Husband and I traveled to France to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, and we had a WONDERFUL TIME! But on our way to LAX [who likes flying out of LAX? Crickets - lol], our airline canceled our flight, and we were rebooked for the next day. Since we were close to the airport, we pressed onward to check-in and see if there was another flight we could catch. We had two options but had to be on standby for a completely booked flight. 5 minutes prior to departure, a staff member said we could board. 

All seemed to be back on track, especially when I was given a seat with extra leg room. We landed at J.F.K. only to walk across the terminal to catch our connecting flight in 5 minutes. At this point, I was thankful to be sitting next to Husband...but not thankful for the turbulence. You know it's bad when the attendants sit down. Let's just say, I felt like a popcorn kernel and was "sick" for the following 7.5 hours. My broken and nauseated prayer consisted of: 'Lord, my life is yours' and Psalm 23. Again. and. again. God was gracious to me through the ladies in the back that allowed me to walk to and from the restroom, gave me a trash bag, ginger ale and antacid tablets. And prior to landing, the turbulence began to ease up, allowing for a light breakfast. On the ground I praised the Lord...until I did not. 

We got to the baggage claim in Paris and began looking for our large golden brown and standard black with a lime green strap suitcases. But they did not arrive... We went to customer service, and the lady suggested we go to the "oversized baggage area." They were not there either. The communication barrier was real. So was the frustration. We went back to customer service. Our bags were eventually found, but they were found in Los Angeles and would not arrive to the airport until the following day. About 30 hours after leaving home, we left with the clothes and backpacks on our backs and made it to our hotel. I will fast forward over makeshift laundry washing in the sink and losing my jacket while buying bathroom essentials and looking for clothes details. By God's kindness, our suitcases arrived 3 days later, minus my electric toothbrush. 

A week into our trip, it was time to pack up and head back to Paris from Versailles. We got there on Sunday, May 18 and were pleasantly surprised to check in to our hotel with an upgrade to the top suite. We unpacked then made our way to an evangelical church we found online. While we were out on Monday, my husband asked me the golden question: do you want the good news or the bad news? I always say tell me the bad news first. He began to let me know there was a mix up with our hotel reservation, and that the upgrade was only for the first night. We have to move rooms by 3PM. He let them know we could be back by then. As we returned, we were stopped from going upstairs and told that our keys would no longer work. A bit confused, I let the staff member know we needed to move our items from the old room, first. We were then informed our items had been moved for us. I was livid. I felt violated. We changed our keys and made our way into our new room. I noticed our ice packs were left in the old mini fridge but continued getting our room in order. 

Without any warning, a housekeeper came right into our room, pulled out our mini fridge, plugged it in and placed our items inside. Without a beat, my flesh walked right up to her and told her, very rudely, she was not welcome or allowed to come into our room during our stay...After she left, I went into the bathroom, sat on the edge of the tub and began to sob. The Holy Spirit quickened me to see my sin and just how inappropriate I had acted, regardless of what the hotel had done to move our things. My husband quickly entered the restroom to console, listen and speak truth to me. I expressed my frustration over what had been done and how I responded. We prayed for an opportunity to apologize to "the woman." I scripted out a French apology and was ready to ask for forgiveness. 

Two days later, on our way out in the morning, "the woman" happened to be in the lobby with two others. I greeted her and proceeded to apologize to her in French. Appearing to hold back tears, she responded it was okay. I responded: it is not okay. Will you please forgive me? She said yes. I resisted the urge to embrace her, desiring to respect their culture. We never saw her again. Writing this brought me to tears again over my behavior AND the Lord's grace to provide an opportunity to ask for and be granted forgiveness. As believers, we are forgiven of our sin, because Christ put His own rights aside to die for us. And we are not only forgiven, 'We are also being trained to renounce ungodliness, worldly passions and to live a self-controlled, upright and godly lives' (Titus 2:11-12). I am so thankful He is our trainer <3 We hope this has encouraged you, especially when there is a need to apologize. 

Private Patio on the Top Suite

On Our Way back to Paris with our Luggage

Grace Fellowship Church in Paris

Praise Reports:

1. The Lord opened up a door for me to meet up with a friend from high-school whom I have been praying for her salvation;
2. Husband and I had the blessing of attending the annual TMAI Missions Symposium on March 3rd and were reminded to remain faithful where God has us; 
3. Husband was able to attend the annual Shepherds Conference live-streaming at our church with about 50 other men, where he was encouraged to continue gazing at God and who He is;
4. We finished exams and interviews for phase 2 of our IBCD training; and
5. My student loans were forgiven under the public service program, and we are now debt free.  

Prayer Requests (the Lord's will in all):

1. Wisdom, endurance & to walk in the Spirit; 
2. Discipline & understanding, as Husband & I continue IBCD training and serving with our church;
3. Humility as we come alongside others in counseling, discipleship and day to day;
4. Faith as Husband begins serving as the Spanish chaplain for the IE 66ers minor-league baseball team; and
5. Witnessing and discipleship opportunities.