Friday, April 30, 2010

Life Lessons Learned Flying

Wednesday morning my family and I started on what we have affectionately termed an “expedition” to North Carolina. We had to leave the house at 6:30 in the morning to get the car dropped off, security, ect. By the time we sat down in the plane with our respective Starbucks coffees and carry-on's, we were ready to start off on this adventure.

We were some of the first to board, so Gabriel, Josiah and I sat in the very back row. Mom and Dad and Rebekah sat in the third from the back so there was a row between us. (This was probably planned on Mom and Dad’s part so that when we started singing “Meet me in St. Louis” during landing, they could try to pretend like they didn’t know us.)

So we settled down while everyone else boarded. In front of us sat one guy by the window, and another on the aisle seat. With one empty one between them.

The last people to board were a middle-aged Indian couple. Well since there was one seat left in front of us, and another one a few rows ahead they couldn’t sit together. This seemed to bother them very much and the lady told the guy on the aisle seat to move up to the other seat. He told her that he was sitting where he was sitting. And she huffed off, bringing back her husband, who also told him that he should move so that they could have two seats together. By this time the plane was starting to taxi down the runway, and the flight attendant came up to try to resolve the situation. She told the Indian man (who seemed rather angry by now) that he had to sit in the empty seat and he needed to go now, the aisle seat guy (who we found out was a lawyer) had apparently requested an aisle seat and the flight attendant said it was okay.

All this time Gabe and I are looking at each other with wide-eyes hoping that a fight doesn’t break out and very happy not to be involved. And the window seat dude was just watching the whole thing like the rest of us. So, there we were with this mad Indian lady in between two laid-back guys, taking off, when window seat guy looks over at her and says “Haha! Shoulda gotten here earlier!” in a very matter of fact way.

Gabe and I about busted out laughing because it was just so fitting! Seriously, it was great. He totally told her off, but was rather nice about it too. We cheered him (quietly) the entire rest of the flight, and decided that if we knew his name we would be his fan on facebook.

Oh and shortly thereafter, he fell asleep and slept through St. Louis till Chicago. Gabe and I decided he must be a prophet.

But I got to thinking about that today, and I was wondering: how different would the world be if everyone just told it like it was? If we possessed such an ardent allegiance to the truth? If people we’re afraid to rub someone the wrong way if it was the right thing to do?

What would happen if pastors started telling it like it was?

What about statesmen?

What about you?

And I don’t mean you have to tell off some cranky lady in an airplane, I’m just talking about being will to speak truth.

Maybe it wouldn’t change anything… and on the other hand, maybe it would change the world.

Cheers from North Carolina!

Non Nobis Domine.


1 comment:

  1. North Carolina...hmmm...and why didn't you tell me you would be near my neck of the woods? :)

    ReplyDelete