Photo from Memphis Flyer
It's late, but I'm committed, so here goes.
Advent is so much about watching and waiting, things we aren't very good at when we've not had to do much of it. And of course the Advent readings bring very serious themes to our minds and hearts related to watching and waiting.
For tonight, however, I'll take it in a different direction. This evening we went to the airport to watch and wait for the arrival of our niece/granddaughter/daughter--my brother's daughter, who spent this semester in Greece and Italy. Nine of us all together stood near the doorway where the passengers appear, by the top of the escalator that goes down to the luggage retrieval area.
The Memphis airport brings so many things to mind. When we were young, we went there to greet my uncle, and later my uncle and aunt, who lived in Michigan, England, and Belgium at various times. I imagine we went there, though I can't remember clearly, to greet my grandparents when they returned from their "Holy Lands" tour with my uncle. (I put it in quotes because I just remember so well hearing my grandmother's voice as she referred to that trip, always with that term.)
I remember the first time I ever flew into and out of that same airport, going to and coming from Italy.
Tonight my husband remembered a time when we arrived there from Croatia, and recalled that my aunt brought Kentucky Fried Chicken for the group of family that had gathered, and that we ate there in the gate area.
All these trips were back in the lovely days before so much of the airport was off limits to anyone but travelers, and we could actually wait for loved ones and see them right as they walked off the plane. I miss those days!
Many memories, much to wonder at and the thankful for. I never dreamed that airports would become so much a normal part of life. I still remember so well the first time being up in the clouds, the first sunset, the first sunrise, the wonderful KLM flight attendants on my first flight over. On my flight back from Italy after my semester over there, I had so much hope that someday I would be able to go back, but I really had no idea whether or not it would happen.
Tonight we were waiting for my niece. Her older brother stood nearest the "do not pass this line" spot, all set to take a picture of her when she appeared. Grandparents were visiting farther back. I stood there chatting with the younger nephew and with friends whose daughter was part of the same group. Time passed, we waited, and it did seem that enough time had passed that we began to wonder.....And then we heard a loud cry our of nowhere and turned and saw that the expected one right there in the hallway hugging her mom! As if she had just materialized out of nowhere!
It turned out, if I understood right, that they had come out at another terminal and had walked down from there to the luggage area and then up the escalator to where we were. Creating quite a stir!
It reminds me of the verse, which I just found in The Message paraphrase-- "Be vigilant....You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up." It's not as poetic as the "Watch therefore" of older version, but that "you have no idea" sure fits for our experience this evening! Not only could we not predict the exact time, but we didn't even know which direction she would be coming from!
And it fits my own experience with airports and flying across the ocean. No idea what lay ahead. No idea that at this point in my life, I wouldn't be able to remember how many trips I've made. Life is full of surprises.
It amazes me how much we talk as if we can plan things out. Of course we have to plan, and we must make decisions, but so much is not in our control. Advent is good to remind us of that. There's a lot we have no idea about, but we can watch and wait for the One who does know and does show up, often when least expected. And if we are watching and waiting for Him, then just as tonight, even though it may be a startling experience, it will also be sweet.
5 comments:
Love this story and how you tied it in to the Lord appearing! I miss those days of waiting at the gate for loved ones to appear.
Hi Sheila! Yes, He does KNOW and He does show up. Perfect. Great post!
The tree is gorgeous!
What a wonderful post! So much resonates with me starting with airports, where I still get emotional for various reasons. While we are waiting for whoever it is, and watching other people greeting each other, all the meetings going on seem to me to accumulate and fill the airport with feeling, the feeling of humanity leaving and reuniting, all these stories...
Your thoughts about the unknown future are compelling, too. We know, though we are waiting expectantly, what we are waiting for, the Feast of the Nativity of Christ. We know now how He came and to whom, and we know our Christology -- but I can't imagine the difference in the world, and in the minds and hearts of those waiting for the Messiah, when He came, and it took until the Resurrection for even His disciples to adjust their expectations and see that what they were waiting for had indeed arrived!
Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks to all for your comments!
Gretchen, you reminded of me the period of my life when train stations were a big part of it. A friend and I used to love going earlier than necessary to the train station so that we could sit and watch people and make up stories about who they might be, what their circumstances were, what were the stories that brought them here, and what lay ahead.
That sounds like such a luxury now, to do that with our time! Maybe it was because we were living in Italy, where the relationship with time is quite different from what it tends to be here in the States. At any rate, it was great fun.
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