First in flight - one week after travel delays, hunger, and unruly crowds made for an unbearable day of air travel, I received a common message about our faith...
Tags: travel, He moves swiftly, thankful, our daily bread, first in flight
...God reminded me how He'll only give us as much as we can take.
Today, I was upgraded on BOTH legs of my trip connecting through Chicago. If you travel regularly for business, you'll realize what this means. First, it means that
you travel too much for business - God bless you! Second, it means that although you didn't pay first class airfare, you have been flying enough that the airline has given you a seat in its First class cabin to express its gratitude for the volume of flights you use.
Thank God for showing me that in spite of my growing objections to the physical discomforts that can come from frequent air travel - He is always there to alleviate stress as needed.
On reflection, I noticed several contradictions for which to be thankful between today's travel and those of prior two weeks:
1. Arm and leg space...instead of super tense body constriction
I'm not sure how you feel, but I
hate being in physical contact with strangers sitting in the seat beside me. To compensate while riding on an airplane, I find myself constricting my whole body into as thin a profile as possible. The result is that I end up very rigid for lengthy periods of time - not wanting to move a muscle for fear of making contact with "the stranger beside me." I end up physically exhausted at the end of the day even though I've only been sitting down! Today, however, I never once worried about touching elbows with strange people. Instead I was able to sit in comfort, move my arms freely, and kick out my legs whenever I felt the desire. Thank you God for the wide seats and open leg room for my personal space today!
2. Breakfast and water...instead of hunger, dehydration, and a throbbing headache.
Last week, after a day on airplanes with nothing to consume except for the two granola bars I carried on the plane with me, I developed a splitting headache. This headache woke me up several times throughout the night and did not dissipate until the following day! In hindsight, I recognize I was likely dehydrated as I had not had more than one cup of water and a bunch of coffee (a dehydrating agent) the entire day.
Today, however, before even pushing back from the gate of my early flight, a cheery flight attendant was asking me what I would like to drink before take off. Thank you God for providing a steady flow of water throughout the day from 40 thousand feet up in the sky!
3. On time departures and arrivals...instead of delays, unplanned stopovers on remote airstrips, and traffic jams
Just one week ago, we waited 2 hours in between connecting flights due to poor weather. Then, once boarded, we learned there was not enough fuel to carry us to our final destination with our weight should our plane be diverted to another airport due to inclement weather. Once we
did finally land, our taxi from airport to hotel sat in a traffic jam an hour long (the commute typically only requires 20 minutes). Today, everything went smoothly. We arrived on time at our connection, had plenty of time to walk across the airport to a secondary gate, and arrived just a couple of minutes later than planned. Afterwards, my checked bag was even spinning around the baggage carousel before I was ready to come pick it up. Thank you God for arranging everything to plan!
4. His joyful presence...instead of a head full of despair
The
best part of today's journey was the reminder it provided - I
must continue pressing on with the belief that things will improve under His care. The bleak travel experiences of past weeks were wiped out in a single day when God moved swiftly on my behalf. I allowed the stress to get the better of me last week at times, but by continuing to seek God and include Him in my days via thought, prayer, or acknowledgement, He can show up with a blessing at any moment.
You're Up - What Reminder Have YOU been Given?
Share an "aha" moment in which you realized that God only burdened you with as much as you could handle - and then you saw his saving hands in action in YOUR life. Do it now by posting a comment below...
