In the In Between

Airports

I’ve been at a lot of airports in the last year and a half. And it is extremely rare that I’ve experienced a delay or mishap.

Tonight was different.

My second flight was delayed. At first it was just by 45 minutes. Then an hour and a half, then the flight was supposed to leave at the time I was originally was supposed to land at my destination. Once again it was pushed back an hour further. Then 30 min more.

Every alert on my phone set me deeper into disappointment.

Normally it wouldn’t bother me. After all, on the race we had layovers of 11 or 9 hours regularly. But I had people and the equipment to nap and I expected to spend that time there. But this time I expected a 3 hour layover and was now looking at a 7 or 8 hour pushback. Which also wasn’t the problem.

The real reason it affected me so much is because I was tired. I didn’t want to make the most of the delay and find a new friend. The delay was costing me what I wanted most: sleep.

Everyone knows that airports are mostly “hurry up to wait” establishments. You get there a few hours early to allow time for security. You make sure any layover you have is at least 45 minutes long to allow for delays, gate changes and boarding. They are holding cells as we wait to get moving towards the place we want or need to be next. Prices are raised like our suspicions of the person next to us or the lone person-less bag.

Sometimes I feel like this season of life I’m currently in is like I’m stuck in the airport. I’m waiting for the next big thing (G42) but in the meantime I’m in a holding cell. Free in the sense I can do anything by as long as it’s within the confines of the time. It’s what I make of the wait.

Do I strike up a conversation with a fellow traveler? Intentionally interact with a janitor who’s cleaning up dog poop and overlooked by so many? Do I phone a friend? Stream a movie? Sit at my gate three hours early or walk up and down terminals in between flights? Do I find food or splurge on coffee? Do I use it as processing time or look for divine appointments?

The truth is even in the waiting, there is so much to do. And once I got my mind off of what I was being deprived of (sleep) I saw the possibilities.

Is there something you are feeling deprived of?

Have you experienced the disappointment of unmet expectations?

After an hour of thinking I wasn’t going to make it home at a decent hour, my phone dinged. Another delay alert. 2 hours shaved off the delay. It was back to leaving at the original arrival time. #thankyouJesus

There’s hope.

Even in the in between.