Arriving: Anything But Easy

            Friday was an adventure to say the least. After getting up around 3 am and having gone to bed the night before around 11:30, I was glad that I would be getting to Durango before 1pm. I hoped that I would be able to nap/rest from the time I arrived until orientation started(at 5). Unfortunately, my plans for the day were drastically changed in Chicago. After getting to O'Hare by 5 am CST, I had about a three hour layover before my flight was scheduled to leave at 7:59 am. However, after boarding the plane and seemingly being ready to embark for Denver, we were notified that the plane needed maintenance, which would result in half hour delay. From this point onward, my flying experience for the day only went downhill.  Following the first delay we were again told that we would be delayed for another hour. At this point, many of the passengers began to disembark the plane to return to the terminal. However, since I was naive of such complications that arise at O'Hare, remained on the plane hoping that we would be able to leave after the end of the hour. Not twenty minutes later we were told to gather our carry-on baggage and other belongings and return to the terminal so that when the maintenance was complete that we could board in an orderly fashion. Needless to say the plane was never deemed fit to fly and the flight was cancelled 25-30 minutes later due to continued complications. (Come to find out, the "necessary maintenance" was really a broken door. The door between the cabin and the flight deck would not lock properly, thus we were not cleared to leave the airport.) After finally having my worst fear concerning the flight realized, I let dad know what was up to see if he could figure out anything on his end. I was able to discover that the two flights to Denver that left within 2 hours of my flight's cancellation were totally booked with massive waiting lists. Thankfully, dad was able to rebook me on a flight to Colorado Springs at noon. At this point, I wasn't particularly glad that I would be stuck at airports all day, but I was glad that I was able to get a seat to the springs within two hours of the cancellation. Due to the fact that some 150-200 people were trying to get to Denver, I count it a small miracle that I was able to get a seat(the last one) to the springs so quickly. The remainder of my day was spent in airports. I had a 45 minute layover in Colorado Springs and then a 15 minute flight to Denver before waiting nearly 4 hours in Denver before my 45 minute flight to Durango.  I arrived in Durango at around 9pm, only 8-9 hours after originally planned.

            Although my day did not go as planned, I do think there was a divine message behind the madness that happened as a result of the cancelled flight. First of all, I believe God wanted to slow me down, to be patient with those around me, and to make the most of my time. Sometimes I can get so caught up in the daily hubbub of life that I often overlook the fact that we really shouldn't be solely driven to complete our tasks. We should not be so focused on the task at hand that we totally dismiss those who are with us as we strive to complete those tasks. It's not that we shouldn't be focused on the task-we should-, but we should be always looking to do a work in another's life that could have eternal consequence.

            Secondly, I feel like God was telling me(and in a sense helping me) take a step back from the big picture to more fully grasp our world. An example would be just watching various members of the masses as they conduct themselves. To really start to glean from their actions what's important to them and what makes them go. In all of the "people watching", I noticed that the vast majority of people were really complacent and not really looking to change the culture around them. What I took away from this time was that while I have been really striving to stand up within my youth group and within political issues, I have not been doing nearly enough on the personal level within my daily life/business. 

            After arriving in Durango, I was luckily able to retrieve my baggage as well as connect with the Summit liaison who had driven to pick up the three of us who had been delay due to various reasons. The ride from the airport to Snow Wolf Lodge lasted roughly 95 minutes, as we got turned around a few times on the way home. ;) I gladly ate up the remnants of lasagna that had been for dinner, quickly unpacked, and found my bed by midnight. All in all it was a really stressful, and trying time to kick off what will likely be the three most influential months of my life within the areas of theology, philosophy, and thought formation. I definitely did not see the beginning of this journey starting off in the manner that it did, but God saw better. Praise be unto Him.