Symphony of Chaos by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
It all seemed to go too perfectly. I left my hotel on time for the airport and made it to my gate at Portland International with plenty of time to spare. Good news! The plane was on time—until it was not. There was a problem with “bad oil,” so the boarding process for my return flight to DFW would be delayed. No problem. It was a short delay, and we boarded fifteen minutes late.
However, once on the plane, there was another maintenance issue with the plane’s computer. Fifteen minutes became thirty, then an hour. All totaled, we sat on the plane for over two hours before departing. While on the plane, every noise became accentuated. There was a loud grinding sound coming from the right side of the aircraft for most of the two hours. Behind me, someone had their volume up on their phone, and they were receiving repeated texts with the Bewitched noise twitching sound sounding every time they received a text. Over to my right, a woman called American Airlines and used the speaker on her phone, so we all heard that conversation.
Cue the screaming baby.
With all the different noises playing simultaneously, it was a symphony of chaos!
So what do you do when your patience is running thin? Cry like the baby on the plane? I wanted to, but I prayed instead. I prayed that I would have patience with the people who were not considerate of others. I prayed that I would be patient with the plane noise. After all, the maintenance worker was feverishly trying to fix the aircraft. I prayed for the screaming baby. It must have been difficult for a baby to be confined on the plane for over two hours, followed by another 3.25 hours to DFW.
Ephesians 4:2 encourages us to: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Romans 12:12 adds, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
I was definitely faithful in prayer, and the LORD brought to mind a time that I was once on a flight with an unhappy baby. It was so bad that the flight attendants on our first flight warned the flight attendants on the connecting flight about our child. I also remembered the flight where I had my hands so full getting on a plane that I spilled coffee on a man who was sitting in first class. He wasn’t happy, but he didn’t yell.
We should share the same grace that we’ve received from others, as well as from God.
In the end, instead of lunch, I made it home for dinner. After a rough start, the flight became less chaotic and more peaceful. I was thankful for a safe journey and landing. Mostly, I was grateful that God gave me patience when I did not have it myself. He’ll do that for you as well.
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