Friday, January 15, 2010

Into the night



Airports at night are curious places.

As though the madly-rushed journeys
that take place during the day give way
to a strange world of suspended activity
and "other-worldly" journeys of those
lost and delayed in transit between places.

Waiting....
waiting....
waiting....

It has been in these places of waiting
that I have had the privilege to be close to
the "between-places people of the night"
and had meetings and nearness which have
moved, surprised and deepened me.

Sometimes almost no words have been said.

Just the movement of being close as people
have dropped off to half-sleep, squashed
on awkward airport benches designed for
quantity of sitting rather than lying-comfort!
Surprise, as someone realizes that their legs
have just involuntarily (?) kicked me or
as another one's head has slipped on to
my shoulder - it felt so honouring!

Sometimes I have found myself in a
many-hour long dialogue of deep transition
where sorrow has been turned into joy,
dread into trust, hopefulness and love.

In these moments I have come to love
places I before had thought of as dead -
these vast rooms for travellers have been
turned into temples of holy meetings and
of the openings of souls and
the bringing forth of Joy!

When I reflected upon all this,
I understood that I could not really
have met these spaces or these people
unless I had been prepared to change
in my own inner life.

So what came first?

Did I change/was I changing within
before my journey, before these meetings?
Or were these meeting there to change me
so that I could be a catalyst in the changes
which I was privileged to be part of?

I cannot tell.
All I know is that what I experienced
showed me how there can be joy in
the most "unlikely" places - and that
ministering to one another is not just possible
but wonderfully productive in places where
"normal reality" is already undone!

I thought my nights-between-flights
would be tiring and meaningless, and yet
I've found great peace and meaning in them!
There is a real joyful inner smile in me
each time I think of what I've experienced.

Waiting at airports will never be the same!

Blessings

John

 
Everything weaving in together!


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