If you have ever flown, you know that there are certain events that can quickly spoil the adventure. Flying economy reminds you that money was saved to make you as uncomfortable as possible. You are the last to board, so you receive the judgmental stares of everyone as you are ushered to the back of the plane. You know what they are thinking. We could be in the air by now if it wasn’t for these peasants. Who do they think they are, anyway?!? Excuse me, stewardess, but could I have one of those moist towelettes? I got a little caviar on my Prada bag.
The seating is cramped, squishing you into a little spot where only a toddler could be comfortable. Evidently, the airline had been wasting too much money on seat foam padding. Most of it has been removed from your seat.
Since you’re in economy, there must be some airline algorithms used to seat you next to a person twice your size to ensure your maximum discomfort. And how do they manage to seat the talkers next to the non-talkers?
The person sitting behind you keeps jabbing the back of your seat with their knees and the person in front of you wants to recline the seat in your lap. And what is wrong with the person behind you who wants to remove their shoes and stick their bare feet in between the seats?!?
The worst – and I do mean the worst – is the fidgety child or the crying baby. Naturally, all efforts have been made to put them in close proximity to the ones who would find their childish nature the most annoying. What an absolute delight to
hear a baby cry the entire flight or have a bored toddler playing or complaining nearby! The stares and glares afforded by the rest of the passengers seem to be ignored by the parents. Wouldn’t you love to … be a blessing and help that parent?
That’s not what you thought I was going to say, is it? However, a 15-second TikTok video brought about some conviction to my heart, especially when I considered how I felt the last time we flew, and a crying baby was in the aisle across from us.
The video title is all there was to a February 2, 2024 bonvoyaged.com article. Fill-in Nonna Helps Comfort Child of Family During Long Flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver by Allowing Child to Rest on Her Lap and Embracing Child.1 The video can be viewed on TikTok or Facebook.2
Flying from Amsterdam to Vancouver is approximately a 10-hour flight. A small child is sitting next to a grandmotherly type of a woman. During the flight, the child got tired and proceeded to stretch out across this woman’s lap, complete with pillow and blanket.
Rather than reacting with displeasure or shooting the parents a dirty look, the woman welcomed the child to her lap, caressing her face to soothe her and holding her hand until the little one fell asleep. The fill-in grandma kept watching her in-flight show while showing tenderness and compassion to a strange child. The child looks completely peaceful in the arms of this stranger.
This is first class amenities provided by a first class grandma!
Now, that’s convicting! Immediately, a Bible passage came to mind. Matthew 19:13-15 records, “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. (14) But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. (15) And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.”
How often do we treat the interruptions and annoyances of life as an opportunity to touch others with the tender love of God hands? If we believe God is sovereign and orchestrates life, then it was no accident that an oversized, talkative person crowded your seat in the plane or that a fussy, sleepy toddler wanted to use your lap as a pillow. A divine appointment was scheduled, and everything happened right on time.
Learn the lesson God has been trying to teach me for decades. Interruptions are opportunities to embrace, not obstacles to avoid. They might take us by surprise, but God is just smiling, knowing that those interruptions are a part of His plan.
God reminds us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts (literally, the plans – and that includes all of life inconveniences and interruptions) that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” 
And, the familiar words of Romans 8:28 ring especially true, even at 30,000 feet. “And we know that all things (crying babies included) work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
1https://bonvoyaged.com/fill-in-nonna-helps-comfort-child-of-family-during-long-flight-from-amsterdam-to-vancouver-by-allowing-child-to-rest-on-her-lap-and-embracing-child-2023/
2https://www.facebook.com/FoxNews/videos/once-upon-a-time-a-fill-in-nonna-helped-comfort-a-child-traveling-with-her-famil/844815457455434/
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