This past weekend I was on a business trip to Phoenix. Although the weekend was marked by several "seinfeld" moments, the most classic was my experience at the gate, waiting to board my flight back to Oakland.
It was a Sunday night, and I knew the airport would be busy with end of weekend flyers. I was concerned about the amount of time available between leaving the conference and arriving at the terminal, so I decided to upgrade to Business Select. worth every penny...well, usually.
I checked in at the counter, received my boarding pass (which came with a free cocktail during my flight....thank goodness) and proceeded to 'fly by security'. The line for regular security was enormous, so getting to go straight to the beginning of the line was absolutely incredible. I'll be doing this every time I fly.
I arrived at the gate with time to spare, grabbed a bite to eat and relaxed for a few minutes before I saw people lining up to board. With A3 as my boarding spot, I was to be only the 3rd person to board the plane. Well that's after the pre-boarders, but that's never more than 4 or 5 people and takes about 5-7 minutes to complete. I threw my brief case over my shoulder and glanced out the window at the setting Arizona sun. We were scheduled to depart right as the sun was setting...it was going to be absolutely beautiful.
Then it began....
2 planes came in to side by side gates at the same time. Both flights just happened to have 4 little old ladies in wheel chairs exiting....at the same time. The southwest crew member announced over the intercom, and extremely loudly, for wheel chairs and assistance to gate C7 asap. They proceeded to line the, eight, little old ladies front to back as they waited for airport crew to push them to baggage claim. They might as well have pulled up a table and started a game of canasta. As the minutes passed, and no personnel came for assistance, it was clear that passengers ready to board were getting antsy. It was crowded, and we couldn't start even the pre-boarding process until the, eight, little old ladies were whisked away. Finally .............
{side note: an earth quake just hit while I was writing this! That's my second one since moving here...not all that impressive..and I hope they stay that way}
Ok, back to the regular programming. Where was I? Oh yes, pre-boarding. 5 more minutes until I would be sliding into my aisle seat, resting my head back, while everyone else was still waiting in line for their turn to board. They called for pre-boarders and here came a basketball team. 15 total athletes and chaperones....all in wheel chairs. Not only were they in wheel chairs, but they all were pushing a 2nd wheel chair in front of them which held their bags. Thirty wheel chairs. thirty. On a normal flight, 4 or 5 wheelchairs would have been abnormal. But....thirty? Really? My shoulder was hurting from carrying my bag, my feet were incredibly sore and I was so exhausted. This process was excruciatingly long...just taking forever.
Looking back I felt like George Costanza. I imagine him playing this through in his head..{what if I walked over to the group, showed them my prominent A3 spot in line and smiled at them. "Hi there (big smile, squinty eyes). I couldn't help but notice how big of a group you have here, and it really is a wonderful thing you're doing, getting all of them together on a basketball team and such. That must really lift their spirits. You see, I paid extra to be seated rather quickly on this flight, and I didn't think you'd mind if I just slid on by to take my seat before you begin boarding your team. I promise, you won't even notice I'm there. Do you think we could arrange this?} When the airport personnel nicely asked him to get back in line, he'd throw his hands up in the air and with his screechy George Costanza voice yell "But I paid extra for Business Select!! I want a refund!"
But in all reality, my feet were killing me, my shoulder was starting to burn (why hadn't I put my bag down by now?) and I was quickly getting frustrated. I took a deep sigh and glanced over at the team of paraplegic basketball players.....They were all laughing and talking about how great the game had been, even though they only came in 4th place.....
Seriously? These kids can't even stand up on their own, and I'm complaining in my head about how bad my feet are hurting from standing for so long? God really does have a sense of humor sometimes. He's been teaching me lessons in patience frequently lately. This is just one of the many examples of Him gently nudging me, encouraging me to be a bit more gracious and thankful than I once was.
And I did get to watch the beautiful Arizona sunset, and it was just as magnificent through the windows in the airport.
We really do serve a merciful and gracious God.
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