Sitting in an airport in the early morning hours is a perfect place to people watch. You can see all walks of humanity, and they come with a plethora of moods and a multitude of attitudes. Watching kids is especially entertaining because they are not stressed with traveling; they are dancing in the open areas, climbing on chairs, and giggling from the sheer joy of living. The adults however, often have a harried look. I lazily watched the craziness of the airport until I was unexpectedly thrust into the fray when tornadoes derailed most of the flights to my connecting airport. What should I do? Based on what I was witnessing, I had options. I could yell, throw a tantrum, or get angry at the airline personnel. But how could that possibly help the situation? There simply HAS to be a better way.
Actually, adding a little ‘fruit’ to my diet during this trying time would be a perfect response. From Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” When life gets messy, let’s not take our frustrations out on the people around us, but instead, let’s choose to be kind. Otis Redding used to sing, “Try a little tenderness…” Even when the situation is out of control, we don’t have to be. “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3) It’s good to remember that everyone is fighting some kind of battle. We can deliberately choose to live a lifestyle where we build each other up. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…” (Romans 12:10) When things aren’t going the way you want them to, do something just for you. Grab some fruit, because that’s always a healthy choice.
Let’s face it, we all make rash decisions at times. My most recent one was taking a 2, a 7, and an 11 year-old to the movies. It’s amazing the things you can accomplish while the previews are on: the 2 year-old and I did step aerobics (repeatedly), explored the lighting systems on the floor, marveled at the big screen, pondered the recliner seats, and greeted other movie-goers as they entered. My body became a human jungle gym during the movie as the 2 year-old sat, crawled, climbed, and lay across me. He wasn’t afraid to comment (loudly) on the antics on the screen, occasionally asking, “What’s so funny?” The highlight of the movie was when my nephew decided to take the lid off his cherry slushy and tip the cup upside down to see why it wasn’t coming out faster. Red slushy in my lap was…interesting. As we left the theater my other nephew said it looked like I’d wet my pants. At that exact moment I discovered the slushy also found its way inside all the compartments of my purse. So as I stop to reflect on our adventure, I realize there are a few lessons to be shared.