Unidentified Baggage

She was well-dressed and well-groomed, ‘though I probably wouldn’t have noticed. She walked with a notable confidence, not entirely common of women exiting a waiting room bathroom.

I was engrossed in a book, my head lowered toward the pages, when my eyes glimpsed the bright white train flowing so freely from her heal as she passed in front of me. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so noticeable had it not been for the rather dark colored décor and adequate lighting of the orthodontist’s office.

Only one other person was in the room—a man obviously aware of the sight. I could tell he was aware because of his sudden stillness. He sat uncomfortably motionless as only his eyes inconspicuously followed the train. Then it happened. The train broke loose and sat in a bundle directly in front of him.

The woman disappeared and will likely never know her impact on her world, nor will she ever recognize the baggage she once dragged behind. But we’ll get to that thought in a bit.

The man in the room continued to sit quite uncomfortably. I was uncomfortable. There was tension in the room, but neither of us was willing to acknowledge the toilet paper…or each other for that matter. It was a bit more comfortable to pretend we knew nothing about the toilet paper.

Several people walked through the room, stepping around or over it. Eventually, a woman gracefully passed by, picked it up and threw it away. Amazingly, all the tension immediately left the room.

There are times when someone crosses our path with baggage so blatant that it makes everyone uncomfortable, except the person himself who is oblivious to it, but reacts to everyone with his, “What’s wrong with you?” attitude. I’m thinking of one man who has serious anger issues. He will behave with rude impatience with nearly every interaction and then respond to the stares around him with, “What’s your problem!?” He’s blind and clueless with no hope for change until he’s able to see his own toilet paper train.

Some toilet paper trains get left in the room leaving its witnesses uncomfortable…and sometimes wounded. People can leave a profound impact and never even realize the train they dragged behind.

As I continued to sit in the waiting room, writing these notes, a mom came in with her daughter. They sat down, but within a couple minutes, the daughter got up to get a magazine. Immediately, the mom said to her daughter, “Come here! You have a Band-Aid stuck on you.” The daughter, looking horrified, squealed, “Ew!!” and quickly pealed it off the leg of her pants.

When we’re able to see our baggage—our own toilet paper trains dragging behind us, or at least the impact our baggage has, then we’re finally able to address it and let God remove it from us.