When I put them on, I was sure that they had been the wrong choice. I had fully
expected to experience a typical PEI fall when I packed for this trip, not this
pseudo summer weather I had been so blessed with over the past two days. Not
that I was complaining. I was just sure that the long-sleeved sweater and polar
fleece vest that I had brought to wear with my tan slacks would be too warm!
Little did I know that 23 hours later, I would still be wearing those same
clothes.
Everything about this trip had been storybook perfect. I hadn't encountered too
much traffic on my way to the Toronto airport; my flight into Moncton was
enjoyable; the rental car people were friendly, and my vehicle was comfortable.
The drive to Charlottetown was pleasant; the hotel room I had reserved was easy
to find and just perfect for my needs, and when I found the conference site,
there was even free parking behind the hosting hotel. The town of Charlottetown,
with its quaint Victorian houses, was bathed in the reds and golds that are so
typical of an Atlantic fall, and its waterfront walkway was just perfect for my
running ambitions. My family back in Ontario was doing just fine without me, and
to top it all off, the conference I was attending had been extremely good.
But when it came time to return home, the storybook trip struck its cord of
reality. My flight was due to depart from Moncton, New Brunswick, at 3:50 p.m. I
left the conference room a few minutes early to ensure adequate time, and I
quickly covered the 200 kilometers, arriving at the Moncton airport by 2:15 p.m.
Plenty of time to return the rental car, check my luggage, and relax before my
flight.
That's when I learned our flight would be delayed until 6:00 p.m.
Now Moncton is home to a beautiful little airport. Small enough to be user
friendly, yet new enough to host all of the modern-day airport comforts that we
have all come to expect. But when you are suddenly faced with a 3½ hour airport
wait, you begin to wish that you were in a place like Toronto or New York where
there's more to do! I quickly resigned myself, however, to becoming intimately
acquainted with the Moncton airport, and settle down to try and fill my time.
That's when the second announcement came through. Our flight would be further
delayed. New ETA for our aircraft, which we learned was awaiting repairs in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and had still to fly to St. Johns, Newfoundland before
coming to Moncton, was 9:55 p.m.
It didn't take a room full of mathematicians to figure out that we would be in
the airport for at least eight hours, and it soon became obvious that many of my
fellow passengers weren't exactly happy with the prospect of this delay. The 10$
meal voucher (which, incidentally, they had to use before the cafeteria closed
at 5!) Didn't go very far to appease them. Neither did the airport personnel who
cheerfully handed out coffee and blankets, despite the fact that OUR delayed
plane also meant that THEY couldn't go home!
As I watched my fellow passengers, I realized that each of us had to make a
decision: We could either get upset about the 8-hour delay, or we could accept
it, and I could see people making both decisions. Some were going from airline
to airline looking for alternate flights into Toronto, and in some cases,
spending hundreds of dollars to reroute themselves. Others stalked around
grumbling, striking out at airport personal and anyone else in their path. There
were also those who weren't quite as vocal about their discontentment. These sat
reading, but their faces let it be known to all that they, too, WEREN'T happy!
There were a few passengers, however, mingling among these grumblers, who were
different. These spoke cheerfully to the waiting passengers, sympathizing with
some, wrapping jackets around others, offering rides in Toronto to still others
who didn't think their waiting party would be able to come and pick them up so
late at night. In each case, they gently reminded everyone that somehow it would
all work out for the good. It was obvious to anyone that they knew that this was
all in God's hands, that He was in charge, even of plane schedules!
As I sat back, wondering which class I best fit into, I suddenly remembered my
clothes. How I had grumbled that morning about having nothing cooler to wear!
Then my mind began retracing my day. The air conditioning in the conference room
where I had spent my morning had been up too high, and my knits and fleeces had
felt really good. A breeze had picked up off the water, making my drive back
into New Brunswick a little cool, and now the air conditioning was up too high
here in the airport. And of course, as late as we would be arriving in Toronto,
the outside air there would probably be cold too. The "too-warm" clothing had
already been a real blessing, and would continue to be so until I got home,
whenever that might be! As I began to thank God for the same clothing I had
cursed just ten hours earlier, I realized that the same God who sent me a 2-week
old weather report that caused me to pack this particular set of clothing would
also bring something good out of our airport delay!
Friends, whenever we're faced with negative circumstances, we always have two
choices to make. We can grumble, try to change things on our own, and in
general, make everyone around us miserable; or we can choose to believe that God
is in control, even in the face of bad circumstances, and be happy.
Which choice will YOU make my friend, the next time you are faced with negative
circumstances? Will you let yourself become upset? Or will you thank God for
making you pack those "too-warm clothes"?
In the end, the flight was further delayed by another 45 minutes, and we arrived
in Toronto, aboard a freezing aircraft, at 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. And since
it was only about 5° C. in Toronto, and I had another two hours of driving to
arrive home, my poor clothing were forced to "work" until 3:30 a.m., when I was
finally able to replace them with some dramatically underused pajamas! How I
thanked God for the fleece!
Lyn Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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