“Oh, OK”
Another movie I had no business seeing as a teenager was “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.” I don’t remember anything about the movie except the plot and the title, but when I looked it up and found a short snipet on YouTube last night, I realized that I certainly wouldn’t have wanted my teenagers to watch it.
The plot centered on a tour group visiting so many sites in Europe in a short time that they thought things like, “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium.” The reason the title has stuck with me all these years is because I have experienced so many whirlwind trips myself over the years — not on tours to Europe, but to places in America, and now especially when I travel to be with homeschoolers. My family has often heard me say, “If it’s Tuesday . . . ”
For the last two nights Ray and I have been in Raleigh, North Carolina, and we plan to be here tomorrow night, too. Our Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday meetings with homeschoolers are all close enough that we can drive back and forth. We are thankful to have three nights in one hotel without having to pack our belongings in and out of the van each morning and night.
We are out so late at night that we are sleeping in and getting a late start each morning. That reality plus the fact that we are actually staying three whole nights in one place has given us the opportunity to interact with the cleaning ladies. My first encounter was quite accidental.
Ray had left our hotel room to do an errand. A little while later, I heard a knock on the door. Sure that it was Ray and thinking that perhaps his hands were full, I said, “Is that my husband?” in a playful and funny drawl and headed for the door. I looked through the safety peep hole in the door. I saw no one, but I heard a woman’s voice. I thought, “Oops! Must be the cleaning lady.” I opened the door and peeked out. Sure enough, there she was to the left of the door. I said that I thought it was my husband and asked if she wanted to clean the room. She just looked at me with a nice smile and then said, “Oh, OK.” I don’t think she had a clue what I said. We obviously didn’t speak the same language. Maybe that is her usual response when she doesn’t understand babbling speakers of English.
This was by no means my first time to talk to someone and feel that they had no idea what I was trying to say. Rarely has the problem been that we did not speak the same tongue. Much more common is when the other person and I have failed to make a heart connection. I want to be a person who can listen to anyone and let that person know that my heart has connected with theirs.
Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.
Proverbs 27:9, NASB