Thoughtful Thursday 

Off To A Rocky Start

A few years ago, my husband and I experienced one of the most exciting vacations in our lifetime.  We were able to visit the beautiful towns and countryside of Nova Scotia. We had the most wonderful time while we were there, but the travel there and back was not so pleasant.

We boarded our plane in Knoxville, Tennessee, changed planes in Washington D.C., changed again in Montreal, Canada, then finally touched down in beautiful Sydney, Nova Scotia. I didn’t mind flying at all, but for some reason I have “airport anxiety.” Will I miss my flight? Will I be able to find the right gate on time? Will my boarding pass have all the correct information? It seemed that I just knew that Murphy’s Law was out to get me.

On the return trip, we had to changed planes the same number of times, so we just reversed course, except we went from Sydney to Toronto, instead of Sydney to Montreal.  And that’s where our troubles began.

When we arrived in Toronto, we had to go through customs before boarding our plane to Washington D.C. Everywhere we went, we found ourselves in line. First we had to stop at a kiosk, where we answered a set of computerized questions, such as, “Are you a U.S. citizen? Are you traveling with anyone? Do you have anything to declare?” If you answered sufficiently, you were given instructions to proceed to another line, where an agent looked over your paper, and sent you and your luggage to a conveyor belt line so your bag could be X-rayed. My paper was just fine, but Ed’s had a big ‘X’ at the top. He was instructed to go to a separate line. I started to panic, for fear of being separated. The agent told me that I could also go through the same line as Ed. This line seemed extremely long and never ending. I was really afraid that we would miss our connecting flight. Thankfully, an agent at another booth motioned us over, and said, “I can help you here.” We placed our bags on the conveyor belt as he looked over our paperwork. “Anything to declare?” he asked. I didn’t really even know what that meant. I looked at Ed…Ed looked at me…we must have had that deer-in-the-headlight look. The agent said a little louder, “Do you have anything to declare? Are you taking anything out of the country?”

It was then that I remembered that we had picked up some rocks from the beach, to bring back as souvenirs, so we could say, “I got this in Nova Scotia!” About that time, the agent pointed to the X-Ray of our bags. Sure enough, right there in black and white, were these round objects that didn’t look unlike a hand grenade. It was almost as if they were crying out, “Look at me! Look at me!” In a trembling voice, I said, “We picked up some rocks from the beach for souvenirs. Is that okay?” He then stamped our papers, sent us on our way, and we just made it to our gate on time. Whew! That was close!

I thought of this today, while reading my Bible study from the book of Luke. Jesus was getting ready for the triumphal entry, the week before his crucifixion. There was a large crowd following Him, because they had been witnessing His miracles, and they were praising Him with loud voices. They must have been very loud, because some of the Pharisees told Jesus to instruct them to be quiet. Do you know what Jesus said?

“I tell you,” He replied,  “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  Luke 19:40   (NIV)

What can you praise Him for today? When I think of how many blessings we are given each and every day, I also want to praise Him. From the time we wake up, and are able to get out of bed, open our eyes to see, hear the birds singing, enjoy the bounty of food, clothing, and shelter, and see the beauty around us…I am amazed! 

I don’t want to wait for the rocks to cry out! I just want to say, “Well, I DECLARE!”

Have a great Thursday!