Blessed while flying

 

Dear Friends

Having chosen to stay in the “abundance of caution” lane during this pandemic, the last thing Kathleen and I could imagine doing was to fly to Florida! But for love of her 95-year old mother who lost her third child last week, and for love of my wife who lost her third sister last week, we did just that. I am home now, and Kathleen expects to be home in a couple of weeks.

Three things happened on the second leg of my flight home (from Phoenix to Ontario) that are worth sharing. First, we sea of strangers waiting to board our flight became family for a moment, as we were invited to welcome/applaud for a Southwestern pilot named Bob when he came down the ramp and through the door, having completed the final flight of his 30 year career. Second, having secured a window seat in the back row, hoping/praying no one would take the aisle seat (middle seats are “closed”) I got into a conversation with the stewardess as we wondered about the reasons people were flying right now. After hearing my reason, she gifted me with an act of kindness by putting the snack box in that aisle seat so no one could sit there. Third, as we were taking off, I noticed the mother of two young adult daughters who were sitting in the row in front of her, reach over to place her hands on their heads, as if to bless them and keep them safe as we headed back to the skies. I could only think of my mother-in-law doing that for her three lost and three surviving daughters, including Kathleen.

Today I am officially retired again with no part time jobs on the horizon. After three years of wonderful retirement opportunities I couldn’t have imagined, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for these unforgettable experiences. While flying to and from Florida was the last thing I wanted to be doing right now, God surprised me with three more blessings in a matter of just 30 minutes.

May we all expect surprise blessings going forward, even during these difficult and challenging days. 

John

P.S. A fourth blessing was incredible views of cloud formations. The picture above was taken during the Orlando to Phoenix leg. That's the wing, not the tail of the plane!