Go Beyond

Trinidad en route to Miami

I have lost track of how many times I have been in an airplane seat over the years — the number is somewhere in the hundreds. In my early days of travel I was exited to be seated anywhere on an airplane, even in those unenviable middle seats. The promise of adventure and discovering new places and peoples always mitigated any discomfort I experienced in an airplane seat.

Window seats were, at one time, my favorites. I loved having a vantage point that allowed me to survey landscapes and clouds and distant horizons. Having something to lean against was also kind of nice when I wanted to take a nap. Middle seats, on the other hand, offered no advantage and always made me feel confined. And then there were all those times I needed to make a quick trip to the bathroom only to be blocked by someone asleep in the aisle seat. Frustrating!

Over a period of time I came to prefer aisle seats. And, I discovered that my frequent flyer status gave me the added advantage of requesting and getting a coveted aisle seat. So, for years, I have enjoyed aisle, exit row, and bulkhead seating — all of which make it easier to get up and move about at will. Of course, when I get a complimentary Business Class upgrade it doesn’t matter to me where I sit. It’s all good in Business Class.

Today, however, I flew from Guyana to Trinidad to Miami on Caribbean Air — an airline with which I do not have any frequent flyer status or leverage for requesting and getting an aisle seat. I was assigned a seat on the last row next to the window on a full flight. And I must say that it was ok. Looking out the window reminded me of why I love traveling to the nations and why doing so is worth any temporary inconvenience, like not having an aisle seat. I didn’t mind being trapped in a corner of the airplane.

Sometimes you have to take a step back, or sit in the back, in order to be reminded of why you love what you do and to reconnect with the core values that fuel your passion. Gazing out the window today and reflecting on the places I have visited and the hundreds of people who have traveled with me was refreshing. Thinking about all of the lives that have been changed was rewarding. Ultimately, for me, sitting in any seat on an airplane is about engaging in kingdom initiatives that will have a reach beyond my generation. “Thanks, Lord, for putting me in the very back of the plane today. I needed the view from the back in order to see ahead a little more clearly.”