Is Patience Still Waiting?

Well, maybe today was all about taking time out to ponder life - in the unusual setting of an airport lounge. I had my discman playing "Come Thou Fount" on repeat one and watched life flow by in front of me. Maybe it was the Christmas season feel, or the hymn that inspired my vision of the lounge, but it was brought to life with a harmony I've rarely witnessed before; in an airport that is. Strangers were greeting one another and talking to each other, kids were running around, some were playing their panpipes. Parents were rolling on the floor with their children, everyone seemed to be beaming with delight. A little boy grabbed his grandmother by the legs and ran with her to the window to watch the airplanes coming in. He was so excited. He told her where to stand and then found his own little spot and knelt there beside her, in front of the big glass window; mesmerized. Every now and then, perhaps when the joy was too overwhelming for him to contain and delight in on his own, he unglued his little nose from the window, looked up to where his grandma was and made sure she was still looking at this incredible and fascinating show he'd wildly ushered her to. Not too far away, brothers were taking turns at being pushed on a wheelchair, experiencing the thrill of feeling the air brush up against their face and trying to catch it with their hands. A little girl came to talk to everyone sitting in my seat aisle - a child burning with curiosity and free-spiritedness. I was overcome with a lasting smile; I couldn't hold back the joy that was brewing inside of me. In this unusually animated waiting room I was brought to think anew of how richly blessed I am. Canterbury was an uncertain destination for me last year, and solely by God's grace am I still here today. The people I've come to meet, the different things God's taught me, the experiences I've had, the things I've learned, the way I've grown...it's really crazy to think that I could have walked right next to all that. I am so thankful for the specific encounters with friends and God which have really nurtured, shaped and stretched me. It's amazing to think God knew all this was awaiting me here and that this is the place He's brought me to - out of all the other places I was looking into! I feel undeservingly blessed with the people God has brought into my life.

Just to make sure that I was in fact as thankful as I claimed to be to have 'ended up' in Canterbury, my plane to Geneva got delayed and finally, cancelled. By then the lounge's atmosphere had died down, my enthusiasm had burnt out and my lack of sleep, caught up with me...but I have walked away from my waiting-room-to-nowhere with a refreshed realisation of God's sovereignty, provision, rich grace, and abundant blessings. For instance, instead of sleeping in my Swiss bed tonight, I get the privilege of spending an extra unplanned night in my Canterbury-ish one. Life is full of surprises!

"Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise His name! I’m fixed upon it,
Name of Thy redeeming love.

Hitherto, Thy love has blessed me,
Thou hast brought me to this place.
And I know Thy hand will bring me
Safely home by Thy good grace.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above."