By Vincent Kituku
In the fall of 1986, God blessed me with a situation that should have been a depressing experience. I found a human hair in my food. That was a blessing in disguise. I had been in the U.S. for less than a year when I asked a friend of mine to take me to Denver, Colo. to look for a car for my family. We shopped way past lunchtime, and about 3 p.m., we decided to take a break to find a restaurant. My friend took me to a place where chicken meals were sold. The good smell and the appetizing look of the food were beyond my imagination.
Chicken in Kenya, where I grew up, was very expensive and many people could hardly afford it. Then, here I was at a well-known fried chicken restaurant. I enjoyed every bite with an intensity words cannot describe. But before I cleared my plate, I noticed a white person’s hair. I just wanted to put the hair aside and continue with my lunch. However, my friend saw it and immediately asked for the manager and showed him the hair in my almost finished food. The manager was so apologetic, but I couldn’t understand what was the big deal.
Then the manager said the most heartwarming words of the day, “I will give you another plate of food. We are sorry for the hair.” I was not sorry for the hair. I thanked God for it. Now I wonder how many other times I visited a chicken restaurant and looked for another hair just to be blessed with an extra plate of chicken.
On reflection, I have thought of the many situations where we focus on trivial inconveniences and overlook the blessings that might be disguised. We complain about a rainy day at the expense of thanking God for the food that will be harvested, as a result of the rain, for our survival. We complain about our jobs instead of thanking God for our employment. We complain about what we don’t have instead of thanking God for what we do have.
Having an attitude of gratitude is a choice we make as individuals. You can choose to see the “social hairs” in your life or the extra plates of blessings you get because of the hairs. You do better when you choose to bless the Lord and forget not the second helping that you may get at no extra charge. Think of the clean water or the fact you may not have to worry about your next meal or your family or your health. And don’t forget that if you are reading this article, you have been blessed with another day that many people didn’t live to see.
Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku, motivational speaker and author of “Overcoming Buffaloes at Work & in Life,” is the founder and executive director of Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope, a non-profit organization that raises tuition and fees for poor orphans and other children from poverty-stricken families in Kenya. Contact him at [email protected] or (208) 376-8724.