The Thing About Airports...

So I am on my way to see my dear friend and, as so many people do, I am flying. On my flight to Dallas, I was gazing out the window looking at the clear skies. But then the captain came on and was talking about "those of you on the left side may be noticing those thunderstorms..." Obviously, I was on the right, but it just made me wonder how many times the storms of life are that close, and yet they miss us. Sometimes I think we only see the actual storms that hit our lives and we forget to be thankful for the "good weather," but we also forget to be thankful for the storms that passed us by. We ask God why so many hit instead of saying thank you for the many He surely kept away.

The other thing I love about airports is that an airport is one of the few places where all our private and separate spheres collide. Let's face it: as Americans we like to stay in our bubbles. But in an airport, we are united as people with a common purpose. (When your plane is suddenly delayed, for example, you know you have 100 other comrades who are on your side ready to take on the poor defenseless flight attendant) In an airport, in that one place, everyone has a purpose and is headed somewhere. There are no drifters in an airport. There is very little decision making involved and little debate. You "do" in an airport, not "consider." But the best part is the feeling of expectancy. Everyone is headed somewhere, to someone or something. And that almost everyone is met with someone who cares...some loved one or business partner that says "you matter in my life." It's really a neat thing....So the next time you are hustling through security and running to catch your flight, or complaining about how you got pretzels instead of peanuts, stop and remember the beautiful thing about airports: everyone matters to someone!