Women's Corner                                                                                        November 28, 2007

The Airport

Don’t you just love airports? I do. Or let me qualify that. I am never good with good-byes, always much better with hellos, but other than that… I love airports! They are a testament to what a wonderful and boundless Creator we have. Just think of the mind of our Creator, and that He would share knowledge about the whole concept of flight with us. This past summer we were at the Phoenix airport, and while waiting for the flight we were meeting, we went to the top parking level of the terminal we were at. We went out in the sweltering July heat (even though there was the cloud cover of an imminent summer storm) and ran from one side of the open parking lot to the other, to alternately watch the airplanes land and take off. It was amazing and awesome.

Even more interesting and wonderful than all the mechanical and technical stuff going on at an airport, is the people stuff that I love to watch. Sometimes I think I could stay at the airport all day, just sitting in the new “meet and greet” areas, where anxious meeters wait for arriving flights to unload their precious cargo into the corridors that lead (eventually) thru the revolving doors to the greeting area. (At least there are revolving doors in Albuquerque.) It is so cool to watch the anticipation of the people waiting. A person can sit with their back to the arrival gates, and simply watch the faces of the people waiting to meet friends and loved ones, to know when that special person has arrived. The face suddenly lights up. There may be a subtle, or not so subtle, wave of the hand or arm. There may be a sudden rush of emotion that brings tears to the eyes. There is no doubt, however that the guest has arrived. Then there is the actual moment of greeting. The long and repeated embrace. The manly handshake of a father and son, that melts into the half-hug and kiss on the neck. The leap into the arms of a missed parent or grandparent. You can see it all at the airport. In my limited experiences in airports, I have never seen a mean or crummy expression or words spoken at the “meet and greet arrivals” part of the airport.

I did notice something on this last trip, however. Not everyone had a greeter when they arrived at their destination. As a matter of fact, most I saw on this particular day did not. Many were on cell phones, and moved through the airport in very familiar ways. Some seemed lost. Some looked around the area, as though they hoped someone familiar was there, and finding none, followed the flow of people to the baggage claim. I think if I were in charge of the airport, I would have official warm-hearted greeters stationed just inside the revolving doors, whose job it would be to hug each incoming passenger, and say, “Welcome to Albuquerque. We are glad you are here.” Time consuming, I know, especially for those personalities that are governed by the clock and have no time for such frills, but it would be better (in my view) than arriving with no one to greet you, no waiting embrace, no one’s face lighting up as you pass through the corridors. Wouldn’t it?

So, is there spiritual truth or application we can make from these seemingly scattered observations of this occasional traveler? There are probably several. They say life is a journey, not a destination. When I get where I am going, however, I want someone to know me, (as opposed to hearing- go away I never knew you) so I’d better make the right connections before I arrive at the end of the journey.

Each one of the arriving individuals has a story. Some are evident or quickly revealed. “Grandma! I see Grandma!” as the child runs through the gate into the waiting arms of grandparents, with weary looking parent(s) tagging along behind. “I’m waiting for my mother,” says the 60-year old woman next to me. A young woman and boy embrace an arriving young man. “Did you notice that these are new shoes, Dad?” the little boy says as they walk on. The man turns to the woman in wonder and whispers, “He’s grown 6 inches!”

Just like the arrivals at the airport, each person traveling through this life has a story. How often are we absorbed in our own story to the point of missing someone else’s? Jesus’ face lights up at the sight of each person He has created. He calls us to be like Him. We are to be lights in this dark world. We are the faces that need to light up when we meet those who have no one in this world, those who “seem lost”, and even those who seem to have it all together, but on the inside they yearn for someone in the “meet and greet” area, waiting for them. As followers of Christ, who have made the ultimate connection, what are we doing to help others to get to where they need to be? I know that many would say that the last statement is judging others or imposing on their freedoms. But the truth is that every person needs to be in a relationship with his or her Creator and Lover. Whether we accept that fact or not is a different story, but the offer of salvation and relationship with God, through Jesus, is for everyone. The Bible says-“ whosoever”. The relationship is for whoever is willing to enter that relationship, and it is what true freedom is all about.

“But how will they know, unless someone tells them, and who will tell them?”

The telling part does not have to be a big complicated event. It is just an “as you go” through life and relationships with others deal. We share as we go. We are called to meet and greet, and point in the direction of Truth.