Monday Morning Manna: Click! Ready for Take-off

On my return flight from Washington DC the following happened before take-off: (1) A lady seated two rows in front of me claimed she had allergies and could only sit in 1st class and was assured that she would be moved. When told there were no seats in first class she refused to sit in her assigned seat. When told she had been switched to a later flight in 1st class, she said she wasn’t going on a later flight. Click! Ready for take-off. 2) The man across the aisle found a liquid substance on his seat belt and refused to wear it until it was cleaned and ruled to be safe? The flight attendant said, “I can’t imagine what it is” to which the passenger replied, “I’d rather not imagine what it is.” Click! Ready for take-off. (3) A lady on the row in front of me was holding a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers. When told she could not take them on the plane, she replied, “These flowers are special and they go with me.” As the flight attendant took the flowers she said, “Mam, if you want to stay with your flowers, follow me. The flowers are leaving the aircraft.” Click! Ready for take-off. (4) Just as we were about to take-off (now 45 minutes late) the man next to me decided to use his cell phone to call his travel agent to discuss his connection in DFW. Flight attendants converged on him with “hang-up” signals. Click! Ready for take-off. Some days are like this. I felt somewhat like the Psalmist, who cried out to God, “Be not far from me, for trouble is near” (Psalm 22:11). The life lesson in all of this: When circumstances are not to your liking, the best you can do for all concerned is to adopt the motto of, “Click! Ready for take-off.”

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.