“…For He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:45
From the Houston airport, Monday, September 25, 2017, en route to Managua, Nicaragua
I could write a full-length novel about the afternoon in the airport. It’s a city enclosed – shops, restaurants, people of many walks of life. I’ve picked up bits and pieces of conversations in Spanish, French, German, and a multitude of other languages I can’t begin to identify. It’s constant motion. Cultures blend to form a tapestry of color and texture, the beauty of God’s crown of creation – humanity.
When I smile, some smile back. Others, they look away. I have to remind myself that this is a city within a city. Paranoia reigns in such a setting. I’ve lived enough of my life in cities, I should remember. Too many years in small town America? Perhaps. Or, perhaps it’s the hours I’ve spent between flights, hours in airports, hours I’ve spent people-watching. I’ve become comfortable. Too much comfort can be dangerous in the city setting. Still, I see God’s work in every face. I see hurting people. I see people in need of a smile. I can’t help myself.
My seat by the window in the food court allows a perfect view of the tarmac. Planes are coming in, rolling to the gates to let their load of travelers deplane. Other planes are starting their engines, the passengers on board buckling their seatbelts, preparing for take-off to far-away lands. Or maybe just New York, or Atlanta, or even as close as San Antonio. Wherever the destination, they’re travelers like I am, setting out on some journey. They see the same puffy white clouds out the plane windows that I see from my table in the terminal. The same sun shines on them that shines on me, warming us all and giving us light. We all share this light. The sun doesn’t share its light with some and deprive others. The Son created the sun to bless us all equally, to warm us all equally. The Son of God, loving us all with equal measure.
