Best practice: If you are flying on the inaugural flight from Chicago to Reykjavik, make sure that (1) the plane has a battery that works and (2) that the captain won’t time out.
Amidst a most unpleasant evening of twists and turns, at two in the morning, when we should have been landing in Iceland, my best friend and I found ourselves landing instead in a hotel room at O’Hare airport trying to figure out how we could get to Iceland (or not) before the next flight available to us on United—arriving Wednesday, 4 days later!
Which is why we find ourselves back at the airport today, preparing to board a flight to Minneapolis, where we will depart yet again tomorrow night on another airplane to Iceland via Icelandair.
There hasn’t been much rest. Lots of internet surfing, phone calls, waiting, waiting, waiting in uncertainty, and very little sleep.
Once again, I am grateful for my many privileges. I know how to maneuver the travel system to find lodging and alternate flights. I have money to cover costs until United can work out reimbursement for our out of pocket costs.
So many prayers for the other 250 or so passengers whose lives were upended through no fault of their own—trying to get to weddings, speaking other languages, managing with small children, and every other unique situation that made a potential joy become a not so happy incident.
And there are all of the other people around the world, whose lives are upended by situations outside their control. Ukraine. Gaza. Sudan. Fire and floods. Stories in the headlines and even more as we listen to people we meet that become our prayer list.
Like Myla. She was our server in the airport lounge (privilege), and was beaming with hospitality and a gracious smile. She immigrated from Ukraine a year ago and shared with us about her life. She talked about how important kindness was. Kindness is.
No words. But isn’t that prayer?
If the mess with our flight had not occurred, I’d have missed this precious conversation with this even more precious woman.
The reset of time became a spiritual rest.
But isn’t that prayer?
House of Grace 