Can you remember the last time you were simply handed extra time with someone one you loved?
Yesterday, Audrey went home to Phoenix, but not until we had
made the hour and a half drive to the airport did she receive the e-mail telling
her that the flight had been cancelled and she wouldn’t leave for another 4
hours.
After she checked her bags and overheard a heated exchange
between the passenger in line in front of her did she realize that her flight
was delayed. As we sat and she read the e-mail and checked the website, another
lady, sitting next to her began to bemoan the delay.
“My daughter lives 10 minutes away! She just
left! We’ve said our goodbyes and I’ve hugged the grandbaby and cried, I just
don’t know if I should call her, I don’t know if I can go through all that
again!”
Audrey and I glanced at each other and I told her I was an
hour and a half away; not quite as convenient as 10 min. I didn’t mention this to her to “one up” her complaint. I
was trying to help her see that her situation could be much worse; she actually
had much to be thankful for.
After chatting with the lady a bit more, we encouraged her
to call her daughter, grab that time with that baby, and eat up every extra
second she had been handed. You could see her mind recalibrating as she began
to nod. The furrow between her eyebrows disappeared as a grin developed on her
face and she began to dial her daughter. She grinned at Audrey as she walked
away and said “I’ll see you later.”
Audrey and I conferred and decided what we would do next.
Her bags were already checked, and she had her boarding pass. When the time
came I could drop her at the curb with her carry on, and head home while she
simply strolled through security, and waited at the gate……..WOO!HOO! We were
free to go and enjoy an additional 3 hours together we hadn’t counted on. We
were thrilled!
As we left the airport, we talked about the differences in people’s
reactions to this inconvenience. Do they see them as blessings or curses? Audrey and I
chose blessings. We could have complained
about the aspects of how it all would alter and change our day, and our plans,
but instead we rejoiced in the fact that we would get 3 more hours, just the
two of us, to shop, eat lunch together, and chat it up.
It is the end of the year. A time when we often hear people
bemoan the rapid passing of time. Yesterday reminded me that I am given gifts
of time every second of every day………how I view them, usually determines how I
use them, and if I make them count.
Looking toward a new year I am reminded that my perspective of time is somewhat skewed anyway. In 2 Peter 3:8 the apostle reminds us:
"‘But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like
a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."
After reading this again, I am reminded that time is a gift for which I need to be more thankful, and mindful of how I'm using it. As I begin 2014 I am going to place this scripture in a prominent place to remind me of a day when I was handed 3 hours to spend with someone I love and what a precious gift it was.
Happy New Year!
