From the moment I started to leave New York, the rain began and just kept on going. Everything seemed to be getting worse. First, the cab driver was at the end of his shift and tried hard to avoid taking me out of his way to the airport. Second, traffic was a nightmare in a repeating cycle of flashing brake lights. The trip averaged out to be just below 20 mph., so I guess I should have been thankful. Then my e-ticket wasn’t. Yet, in the end, I boarded the plane as one of the last passengers. The plane taxied in a slow queue, took to the skies still buried in rain and stayed buried in the clouds for a long, long time.
As I watched the water streaming by the window I knew the time would come when I would find clean air and rest. My recurring thought was the same. With each passing drop I was just that much closer to my real goal, home. Nothing else really mattered.
So often things detract from what is really important. Work tries to consume every waking moment. Stress overwhelms even the best disciplines. I keep thinking I can beat the axiom that “whoever makes deals with strangers is sure to get burned.” (Proverbs 11.15) I continue to retry hills on which I have repeatedly crashed. At each reflection, I pause to discover that my efforts on all fronts are repeated failures. Yet, I know there is hope for clear air.
I am confident because of a recurring fact. Each moment is an opportunity to experience grace. With the passing of one, failure or success, I can learn to be even more dependent on God. Nothing else really matters.
I look around and find I have cluttered my life with business and busyness. As I look at the stuff rushing by I know my heart longs for just one thing, going home to God. Clear air is awesome, full of the Spirit, gifted with peace and grace. With God you will find yourself in the best!
