Have you ever missed a flight? What did you do? God has blessed me with many journeys via airplanes, trains, boats, and taxis; and I have had my fair share of waiting in airports and train stations.
Last week, I flew to Abilene, Texas, for the annual lectureship at my alma mater, Abilene Christian University. The event had too many speakers for me to hear all of them, but the ones I heard motivated me to think and spurred me to act, sometimes through what they said, sometimes through what a friend and I discussed afterward.
The week went rather quickly, and I didn’t have a lot of time to process the thoughts people were sharing with me. But then I got some time, and it was time I did not want.
As I said, I have flown many times, and I had never missed a flight…until Thursday. Yes, it finally happened to me. There I was in Abilene’s two-gate airport with nothing to do except to sit and wait for my friend to come meet me. The airport had almost completely closed down for the night, so I couldn’t even strike up a conversation with a stranger. What to do?
I went outside and stood in the shade to wait for my friend, and I placed my bags beside me, being careful to find a clean spot for them. Then I stood there for several minutes. Nothing to do. Nothing to hear. Nothing to see. Just me in the shade.
And God.
I quietly recalled things I had heard and seen during the past few days at the lectureship, and words of scripture filled my mind. I let those words take me to what seemed like a different world, where missed flights didn’t matter. But the strange truth of it all was that the different world wasn’t really different. It was still this world, but seen through a different lens, one tented by the experience of standing and waiting in God’s presence and letting His words sink deep into my soul.
That, my friend, is meditation. There’s no need to be scared or intimidated by it. Meditation is simply dwelling in God’s presence and letting His words fill your mind and heart.
And it’s a good thing to do when you miss a flight!
To get you thinking…
Read Psalm 1. What do you see about meditation here? How have you seen or understood meditation in the past? Does meditation interest you as a possible regular practice? Why or why not?
