July 12, 2013
Ephesians 4:1-3 – I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Um … I’m a bit uncertain about this. If I’m right, today’s devotion is supposed to be a sharing of how petty I am. I’m not sure how worshipful it’s really going to be, but I’m drawing comfort from knowing I’m not the only one like this.
Today did not start well. I woke to a collection of text messages, voicemails and emails telling me that my flight from London was delayed, so I would not make my connection and wouldn’t get home today. I determined not to succumb to the temptation to be grumpy. It was a big promise, because I’m prone to letting travel aggravation wear me down.
I got my first good news of the day when I was able to contact my airline and get switched to another that would get me home only an hour or so late. 11 hours sitting next to bathrooms but maybe I could improve that…
Online check-in with airline… They had better seats … but wouldn’t assign them online! Still not grumpy. Off to the airport.
Heathrow airport. Ticket counter … “You need to go to check-in Kiosk”. Check-in Kiosk … “Go stand in line”. Trying for humor not grumps! Check-in desk … Claire is having a bad day already, so I try to make her smile “Yes! We can move you …” … a bright spot. Now, off to the lounge for somewhere with a little peace and quiet to work. “Oh, you moved airlines … no lounge for you today!” OK, nearly grumpy… time to sing a little … “Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, praise God out loud!” …Ahhh … yes, that got it.
“Get some water, find a seat, let’s sit and do some email. Oh no … the best airport in the world and Wi-Fi access won’t work? This is NOT good. I am going to be sooo behind”. If I let him, satan’s going to be creeping in. This is how it happens. Forget where I’m walking and get distracted by the petty irritations, the trick is, keep walking…
Talking of walking … 15 minutes from lounge to gate? Really? Keep walking, keep singing, keep praying.
So here I am on the flight … still walking, even while I’m flying … time for a break.
Chicago — long process through Immigration, Customs, changing terminals, security. Email etc. still tricky … it’s tough to keep smiling after that 9 hour flight … but I get to speak with my sweetheart!
What’s this all about? It’s about walking worthy. I’m called to be a disciple, and that means dealing with whatever I get. Today has been an object lesson!