Out of Darkness
I was in Miami on my way home from Chile when I boarded a flight for the next leg of my journey. I left Santiago in darkness the night before and had flown all night and the sun didn’t rise this morning as the skies were sodden with black, low hanging clouds. I was seated on the plane and the jetway had been rolled away, the little tractor started pushing us backward, then the wait began.
And continued…
After perhaps a half hour the pilot informed us there was lightning within 5 miles of the airport and the ground personnel who drive the little tractors to push the jets away from the terminal did not work whenever there was lightning reported within 5 miles of the airport and our little tractor operator had taken shelter inside in response to a radio command. Now, understand, other than a static issue, the weather was not an impediment to flight; only a potential hazard for those ground personnel working outside unprotected.
My window seat afforded me a wonderful view across the taxiways and runways out toward the coast where in the distance (I’m sure it was more than 5 miles) lightning would occasionally flash over the water. The taxiways clogged with planes arriving but unable to approach the terminal because the planes at the terminal were not being pushed away in order to depart. It really was one of the most dismal, boring experiences you could imagine. Eventually, the flight attendant, in an effort to calm the restless natives, began the movie intended to be an in-flight movie. Over the hours arguments ensued as flight attendants started limiting the alcohol consumption of those passengers who had apparently determined a self administered anesthetic might alleviate their personal stress while transferring it to those around them.
Over 4 hours we sat on the tarmac in the not so luxurious confines of this overly warm aircraft pointed at the terminal trying to figure out why no one had ever considered putting a reverse gear on jets.
I wondered how many arriving travelers trapped on the taxiways away from the terminals were missing their cruise departures and having holidays altered, how many were unable to contact friends or family to inform them of their whereabouts, how many were missing connecting flights elsewhere, how many passengers were sitting in other terminals where the weather was beautiful awaiting the arrival of their own transportation which sat parked at the terminal in Miami under sodden black skies. And somewhere along the way I began to remember all the dominos I used to set up on a table so that when tipped the first one strikes the second one and the second knocks down the third which topples the fourth… and here I was just another domino on the table. I hadn’t started this, but as I was being impacted so this impact upon me impacted others in turn, and yet others. And there was nothing any of us could do to alter the course of our day but to tip over when it was our turn. Such stimulating thought! Certainly appropriate for this dreary day.
Somewhere, fairly early into this unplanned 4 hour adventure I made a decision. It was a decision based upon the knowledge that every event in our lives can be used for God’s glory. I decided I was going to be happy. Why should clouds determine the state of my heart? Why should a union contract intended to protect laborers govern my attitude? Why should I allow a crowd’s hostile mentality to turn my mind to anger? And in the moment I made this decision, I was suddenly at peace. I found it easy to smile and speak pleasantly to those around me and to the flight attendant whenever one spoke to me, and was surprised a bit later to realize sometime during this ordeal I had begun receiving constant and exceptional service — which I was not even requesting — I never touched the call button even once!
What felt to most like an eternity later we were pushed away from the terminal and taxied out for departure. The plane pointed its nose at the darkened sky and climbed into a daytime blackness of clouds. Moments later there was a concerted gasp as the cabin was flooded with the most awesome sunlight one can ever witness as we burst through the cloud cover.
An hour or so later in the flight, a flight attendant stopped in the aisle at my row, and indicating the empty seat beside me asked, “May I?”. Seated, she got right to the point as she explained why she was interested in speaking to me. “We sat on the ground forever and with over two hundred passengers on this plane you were the only one smiling. You were the only one who remained courteous and friendly. WHY???” she inquired.
My explanation was simple as I asked, “Do you remember the moment we burst out from under those black clouds and suddenly were bathed in the brilliance of sunlight above the clouds?” She nodded and I told her, “I am a Christian, chosen by God as His own possession, so that I might PRAISE HIM WHO CALLED ME OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT.” (I Peter 2:9)
As she stayed there and began to question me further, the better part of an hour was then spent sharing with this most pleasant flight attendant how God’s presence in my life has transformed my life into a joyful experience regardless of circumstances on any particular day.
Think about it – just like that airplane pulled me up out of the gloom and into the sunshine, our connection with the Lord dramatically pulls us out of the darkness that so easily pervades our lives and into His wonderful light. The question is whether you reflect HIS marvelous light to those who encounter you?