You can learn a lot by observation at an airport about people, Peace Family. For me, it was almost all good recently as I flew to Pittsburgh and back. I am so grateful to be a part of the big world God created and so grateful to travel. It’s so fun to go through Easterwood Airport. It’s small, yes, with only 2 gates. But there are a thousand different stories and lives represented. Mostly all are some way associated with Texas A&M and are salt-of-the-earth people. You know, the good ones you can count on and depend on.
Once I got to Houston I noticed a huge difference in the melting pot of people. It seems you have to go through Houston to get to many different cities in America. As soon as I was in the gate area for the flight to Pittsburgh the feel of the culture of the people changed. Not bad or wrong, just different. Not Texan. And not Southern. it was Great Lakes area/East Coast culture. There were different accents, different hairstyles and different clothing. I realized it’s probably very good for me to get outside my little world here at Peace 107 and see the big picture. There really is a big world out there full of very different people. I loved it!
I also realized that as different as we are, we are all still, deep down, the same. We want the same for our families and friends and communities.
I saw a family traveling together and a father and son across the aisle from each other. The son was maybe 8 or 9 years old and it obviously was his first flight. He was scared. He had his hands over his face. As we began to taxi down the runway I saw the father reach across the aisle and hold his son’s hand. His son smiled at his dad and kept looking at him as the plane took off. His dad was his security blanket and he trusted him to take care of him. It showed the love in a father’s heart and reminded me how our Heavenly Father reaches out to us and holds our hands at different times in our lives.
There was a lady behind me in a security line that was distressed and talking on her cell phone to her daughter. Her husband and her were flying to Hilton Head, SC for vacation and she had forgotten to remind her husband to bring his driver’s license. He was angry and was at that stage of just saying, “Fine then! We just won’t go! Forget it and let’s go home!” As he talked to security she got off the phone and looked at me. I smiled and she began to tell me how she is the ‘keeper’ of important things in the family…documents, bills, banking, etc. and she had forgotten and felt terrible. I told her that maybe they would be able to check his information online and verify his identity that way. I told her it would be fine and they would get to Hilton Head and have a wonderful time of relaxation. She thanked me for listening to her. She just needed a friend at that moment. Later, the security guys were able to check her husband’s i.d. and they did in fact get to go on their plane. When I got to the front of the line security told me I was pre-screened and could have gone through a shorter line. Somehow that didn’t bother me because I think I was suppose to be in that line to interact with that lady. God works in mysterious ways!
On the flight back to College Station I sat next to a young lady who had just competed in her first Iron Man competition in Michigan, her home state. It was the Half actually. She is on the track and field team at Texas A&M and felt she was in good shape and conditioned. She did good in the swimming and bike ride but the last leg was a 13 mile run. She doesn’t like running and it’s her weakest event. It took everything out of her to finish the race, which she did in her goal time, under 7 hours. 6:58 to be exact. Can you imaging being in constant motion for 7 HOURS without stopping?!! I thought she did a remarkable thing and told her so and how proud I was of her. She said she probably will never do one again. It just pushed her past her endurance and limits. She said training and athletics have always come easy for her and as a competitive person she usually wins. But the last part running she saw person after person pass her and there was nothing she could do about it. No more gas in the tank, so to speak. It was devastating. I told her that maybe because of how easy things come to her it was a way for God to humble her and show her what a big world this is and inspire her to not think everything is easy in life. She said, “That’s exactly what He did!” She had a whole different view of things after that race.
My point is, even though we are different we all have similar experiences. And if God can use you in any situation I encourage you to let him do just that. You could bring comfort and light in a dark situation for someone. You are God’s favorite tool to use in this world and we all need each other in different ways and different times. Even at an airport.
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