Sitting at the airport this morning waiting for a plane to deliver us from Indianapolis International to Hartsfield in Atlanta, we weary travelers are confronted with the all-too-common news of cascading delays. It seems the original plane required overnight repairs. Those didn’t accomplish the task. Finding this attempt unrequited, the airline assured an alternate plane would be ferried to us in short order. Alas, it seems that the newly requisitioned chariot developed its own issues. It may find its way to us – or not. So, we sit assured that it is fully beyond their control and that others are responsible for its ultimate resolution.
A young woman approached the counter, clearly feeling some despair. “I am flying alone for the first time and I think I will miss my connecting flight!” Calmed by the professional gate attendant, she was reassured that planes come and go and that, undoubtedly, she would eventually arrive to join her family in her home city.
It is our way to obsess about our path. What if we get lost? Notions of unfamiliarity and uncertainty bring with them considerable anxiety. Still, have we ever been so lost that we didn’t eventually find our way home?
On a trip to get ice cream while on vacation, my then-young children had lost confidence in my navigating and were pressuring me to stop and ask for directions from a bystander. In a particularly cranky moment, I responded that I once became so lost that I simply gave up and started a new family. After a moment of hushed discussion between them, the older asserted that I must be joking. Happily, I was. Still, the point was made. As long as we are committed to the ultimate result, we will arrive at our ultimate destination. And we did.
