I have a confession to make.  And it is this.  Sometimes I have a bad attitude. 

It’s true what they say, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”  There have been moments when I have proven that true.  But just like the rest of us, I am a work in progress.  God is teaching me to be more like Jesus and less like me.

And all my children said AMEN.

But still, I don’t always get it right.

A few months back, we decided to take a trip to Seattle. 

We were to fly into Bellingham, 90 minutes away from the city, so we could take a scenic drive and explore the beauty of God’s creation on the way.  This Arizona girl had never seen a deep, lush forest, and this was to be a new adventure for all of us. 

Then one week before we were to leave, my husband’s health took a nosedive.

After much contemplation and prayer, we decided to go in spite of it.  But secretly in my own heart, I dreaded the trip.  Because in truth, my focus became less about the adventure waiting for us, and more about the things that might spoil it. 

And then I became the spoiler.  Funny how that can happen.

The morning we left, God had spoken to me, telling me to rest in him, to trust him with this trip. 

God had told me, “Smile, both within your soul and with your face.”

But I didn’t.

The travel day was long, the airplane seats were small, and I got stuck sitting between my big burly husband and my teenage son.  When we arrived in Washington, it was to a record high, with muggy heat – not the dry heat this Arizona girl can handle. 

To add to our travel issues, when we arrived, our rental car wasn’t waiting for us, and the rental place was closed.  The restaurants were all shut down because of no air conditioning, and after we finally found an open fast food place to grab takeout and arrived at our hotel room to eat it, our room key wouldn’t work.

Yeah, it was that kind of day.

And do you think I smiled through it?  Oh no – I was no more of a joy than the rest of the travel day.  How unfortunate for my husband, who already felt poorly.

God had something to say about that.

When the room key wouldn’t work, my husband handed it to me, asking, “Could you go take care of this please?”  I knew I needed to.  He wasn’t feeling his best and we were standing on the 4^th floor.  I took the key and headed toward the lobby.

As I entered the empty elevator, I waited for the doors to close.  And then I looked down at the room key my husband had placed in my hand. 

There it was, in bold white letters, scrawled across the lime green key.  God’s reminder to my stubborn heart. The key read, UNLOCK YOUR SMILE.

Very funny, God.

In truth, I was humbled.  I knew I had been a terrible traveler that day, not to mention, an unsupportive wife, and a grumpy mom.  And I knew I needed a gentle reminder to reset my heart because, if I kept up this attitude, I was going to wreck my own vacation.

I didn’t come back to the room smiling and happy, but I came back new.  I came back kinder, more thoughtful, and definitely more thankful. 

Because God loved me enough to correct me, but in an ever-so-gentle, laughable kind of way.  He set my heart and mind back on the course he intended for me and for those around me.  He did what he needed to do to make sure we had a good vacation.

And we did.

Romans 15:5 says this –

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.

God had tried to prepare me for what he knew would be a hard day.  He gave me the encouragement that I needed, telling me to smile, both inside and out.  Had I done that, I could have sailed through our travel day, noticing the trials, but not being beaten down by them.  And I could have been a much kinder wife and mother.

Sometimes God is crystal clear about how we should handle a situation and how we should treat those around us.  And sometimes, in spite of this, we choose instead to go our own way.  But the wonderful thing about the God we serve is he loves us in spite of it.

He knew when he told me to smile that I wasn’t going to do it. So he gave me a broken key and a moment in an elevator in order to guide me back.

Is there a situation in your life that you need to hand over to Jesus?  Maybe some people around you that deserve a better attitude than what you are presently giving them?  God knows I have those in mine.

Take a moment today to get on the elevator.  Ask God what you need to hand over, and where you need to be more like him. 

Let him breathe some life into that less-than-perfect situation with those less-than-perfect people. 

Invite him to help you do the thing he asked of me:

To unlock your smile.

NOTE:  To read a story about another God moment we had on this same trip, see my post:  Hidden Treasures from a Great Big God.