More From John I. Carney

The night that the woman from the housekeeping staff tied my shoe, I wrote a post on my personal blog about it, and even posted a photo of the shoe! The conference I mentioned in my devotional is an annual gathering of over 2,600 United Methodist youth and their adult leaders and chaperones in Middle Tennessee. When I got the email inviting me to write this blog post, by coincidence, it was just two days before I was set to go to this year’s youth conference.

Although I have no children of my own, I truly enjoy going to this conference with the teenagers from my church. I enjoy spending time with the youth and making it possible for them to be there. Some years, I am the only male chaperone in our group; if we didn’t have a male chaperone, we wouldn’t be allowed to take any male teenagers. I also enjoy the speakers, music, and other activities at the conference. I think I am as blessed by the experience as the teenagers are. 

The incident I described in my devotional has made me think more about the work done by hotel staff. I’ve only spent a few nights in any hotel since then, but I’ve thought about that situation every time. Many people in the service industry depend on income from tips, so I’ve tried in the past few years to be generous in what I leave at hotels and restaurants. 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share the story with readers of The Upper Room around the world.