LAGUARDIA LIFE LESSONS

We were in our airline seats on the ground at LaGuardia as our flight was boarding.  I was chitchatting with an aisle passenger from Long Island named Stacey.  All of a sudden, the tenor of the air in the cabin changed magically.  It was like fairy dust had been sprinkled when a large group of children boarded.  They had been to a Down Syndrome competition in New York.  And as they came down the aisle, their joy was spilling over as they laughed and hugged and freely shared their love and excitement.  Their community's bubbly ways just seemed to lift all our collective spirits.  They were a force for good...true free love that the 60's would envy.

But five minutes went by and the boarding line got clogged up.  People who were backed up in the aisle pursed their lips and shifted carry-on loads.  A large man rudely hollered "CMON!  We need to get off the ground here!"  Stacey and I froze for a minute.  We were so hoping the problem was not coming from the special needs section.  But we couldn't see far enough in the back to know.

The line mercifully eased a bit and now the man was about three rows behind us.  We could hear him excoriating someone.  "Get up!  You're in my seat!  That's MY seat!"  Then he screamed..."MOVE!"  Someone down the line asked what was wrong.  The answer was relayed back "someone doesn't know their alphabet".  Stacey and I cringed again.  

Thank goodness now the stewardess was making her way down the aisle, offering "may I help"?  It turned out that the problem was a lady who did not speak English.  She was reseated across the aisle and back a few rows.  A very kind man spoke up and volunteered to sit by Irateman. The trouble was diffused until the next time life will meet Mr. Irate where he dwells...fixed on the edge of rage.

I wonder if our special needs friends were aware of what went on in the aisle that day.  I can't remotely IMAGINE one of them ever speaking to another person in that way.

Who knows what earlier events combined to bring Mr. Irate to his emotional state that day. But once on the plane, many people witnessed his co-performance in a seminar the Lord was offering about having regard for others.  Contrast is such an illustrative teacher.   I wish Mr. Irate could see the video replay.  

And maybe one day in eternity, he will... 

"In this act (of sending Christ) we see what real love is.  It is not our love for God, but His love for us.  Since God loved us as much as that, we surely ought to love each other."  1John 4:10,11