I was just trying to find a seat for me and my family in the crowded airport. Actually, I was just trying to find two seats together, one for my son, Caleb, and the other to share with the rest of us. Navigating a busy airport with someone with a disability isn’t easy. Now add a bulky backpack that keeps sliding down his arm and hitting everyone when he turns around or walks through tight spaces…which was often.
I was hoping our gate wouldn’t be crowded because we were early. Unfortunately, the flight departing ahead of us hadn’t even left yet. Apparently, the plane still hadn’t arrived which meant the gate was crowded and filled with all the people waiting for that flight. As far as I could see, there were no two seats together anywhere at the gate. So I hauled Caleb to the next gate. Thankfully, it was close enough so we didn’t have to walk too far when it was time to board.
The perfect seat
I immediately found the perfect two seats. They were right by the aisle which meant it was easy to get to…and get out of. I quickly steered Caleb towards it. But he only operates at two speeds. Extremely slow with random bursts of speed. He was on his extremely slow cycle at the moment. By the time we finally got close to the seats, someone cut in front of us and took it. As if he didn’t see us inching our way toward the seats in the first place. But that wasn’t his concern, in the dog-eat-dog world of claiming seats in crowded airports, he won.
Now I had to find other seats. I glance around and quickly find another pair of empty seats, but they were in the middle of the row. Definitely not the easiest to get to but it was better than having Caleb stand. So I carefully steer him through the aisle, making sure he doesn’t accidentally step on toes, smack anyone with his backpack or trip over baggage.
He, of course, doesn’t care about any of those things. He’s acting like a celebrity, smiling and greeting everyone he passes and not paying any attention to where he’s going.
A pleasant surprise
I finally manage to wrangle him to his seat where he promptly greets the people sitting on either side of him. The lady to his left, we’ll call her Kelly, welcomes him warmly. Caleb, never one to miss an opportunity to talk about animals, seizes the moment. He shares with her all the animals he knows and the sounds they make. Much to my surprise, Kelly starts talking to him. This was very unexpected because most of the people at the airport had been pretty absorbed in their world to pay attention to Caleb.
What’s more amazing is how good and at ease she seems to be with him, even though they’ve never met before. Kelly then turns to me and asks me about Caleb’s disability which I share. Then she tells me she also had a daughter who had a disability but she passed away a few years ago. So we spend the next few minutes getting acquainted before she leaves for her flight.
God’s plans
The whole encounter made me wonder how in a busy crowded airport I managed to sit next to another mom of a uniquely abled child. I mean everything had to happen precisely for that moment to occur. First, our gate had to be packed. Then Caleb had to walk extremely slow giving someone else the chance to claim the seats we were heading for. And lastly, we needed to be early. If everything didn’t happen just so, I would’ve missed her. Needless to say, that conversation definitely lifted my spirits and it totally made Caleb’s day.
It’s a great reminder not to get frustrated when our plans don’t work out. After all, those aisle seat would’ve made my life sooo much easier. Instead, I had to have Caleb crawl over other people and their luggage in order to get to our seats. What I didn’t know when I was going through that cramped, crowded space mentally complaining about the inconvenience was that God had something better planned.
So when circumstances don’t go as planned and you find yourself going through situations you wish you didn’t have to go through, don’t get discouraged. Perhaps God has something better planned for you…but you’ll need to get there to find out what it is.
