Traveling and Growth
Traveling is a learning experience. People, places, postures. They all come into full focus when one travels. Yesterday I flew from Vienna to Oklahoma City.
I met an international businessman who made sure those seated around him knew he had spent $6,000 on a Business Class ticket. However, due to overbooking, he was now forced to sit in Economy - with us. He was agitated upon arrival in Minneapolis because he had a flight to catch and he was stuck in Economy - with us who had flights to catch, too. He pushed his way through customs raising his need to catch his flight high like a banner no one had ever seen. What he didn’t see was that all of us, too, had our banners.
Security workers seemed unaffected by my attempts to tell them that I, too, was only 25 minutes away from my last departure. Clearing security, running with shoes untied and contents of my bag in my hands, I jumped on a transport cart quickly realizing I was traveling the pace I could have walked. Seriously, the driver was carrying on a conversation with a man walking next to us. I repeated my need to get to my gate and prayed. If I had been a lesser woman I would have thrown this aged man off his cart, peeled out and probably hit several pedestrians on my way ... and not care!
At gate C11 I hear the last call for Oklahoma City. My gate is C23. I instinctively tap - hard - on my driver's shoulder and say “That’s me! That’s my flight!”. Sweet old man pushed the pedal to the metal to get me to my gate. I ran with contents now stored in my bag but shoes left untied to the ticket counter only to be informed that the flight was full and I was too late.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! I was stuck in passport control! I’ve got a boarding pass!”
She said she was sorry as she typed things into her master black computer. Then said, “I know you were, honey. Wait a minute. I’m going to get you on. Do you have all your things?”
“Yes, Ma’m”.
“Then run.”
And good rule follower that I am, I ran. A standby passenger who took up residence in my original seat was pulled off the plane and just like that, I was Oklahoma City bound.
I made it but my luggage didn’t.
Here’s what I learned: I'm growing.
I'm hard-wired by the One who created me to thrive on schedules. I love the predictability and structure that organization and schedules bring. However, I get stressed - like really stressed - when schedules don't work. On the outside, I was cool as a cucumber yesterday as I was being herded like cattle through lines that seemed unmoving. However inside I was about to explode. That's when I noticed it ... the growth. Filling my brain and heart with Truth I heard the Holy Spirit ask me ... "What's the worst thing that can happen?" I chased that rabit for a minute and then came to the conclusion that if the worst thing that could happen would be that I'd miss my plane and have to take another ... that was OK. I owned the lack of control on a schedule I could not command.
Psalm 11 says that God loves a righteous man. Righteous, I believe, means being in right relationship with God. However, this morning I realized the righteous are in the process of obtaining righteous hearts. Our spirits are perfect They were restored at the point of our salvation. However, my soul: mind, will, emotions need transforming by Truth. I got to see the One that best knows me trumping my circumstances by changing my perspective. He had done a great thing in my heart. He used Truth to bring a new outcome to my heart. This tight holder of schedules let go yesterday. That's how I know the Truth has set me free.
Traveling and learning lessons,
Christina
Tags:
knowing God
travel
1 comments
Indeed I too would lose it with something like this (before.) I'm glad we're both turning into different people lately. I want to see you once you're settled in!
ReplyDelete