My pastor told a story this Sunday that really touched my heart. He said he was traveling on Delta from Atlanta to Sarasota, and although usually he is in the very back of the plane, this time his Boarding Pass said “Zone One.” Being one of the first people on the plane, he got to do some wonderful people watching as others were coming on board.
He was in the third row of Coach, when soon a young man in uniform came in, stowed his pack in the overhead bin, and sat in the row ahead of him. Another young lady was seated in that row, and he was able to hear a bit of their conversation. The young man told her that he had just finished a tour in Iraq, was coming home on leave, and then would go back in several weeks.
As they were talking, a woman who had been seated in First Class, came back to the young man’s row, introduced herself, and asked him for his Boarding Pass. A bit puzzled, he handed it to her, at which point she, in turn, handed hers to him. She said, “I would like to trade seats with you.”
The young man immediately responded, “Oh, no, Ma’am, I couldn’t do that.”
She smiled a huge smile and said, “Oh, yes, you can, Soldier. It’s an order!”
So, as everyone around wiped teary eyes, the young man reached up for his backpack and went up to sit in First Class.
Just a few moments later, he said another woman came out of First Class, went down the row to another young soldier and said, “I just want to thank you for serving our country. Would you please trade seats with me?”
And the end of the story is… that by the time that plane took off, EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN UNIFORM was sitting in First Class!
What a testimony this is to the difference each of us can make every single day in every single situation when we are in touch with our hearts! That one act started a chain of kindness that touched every single life on that plane that day.
How can YOU reach out to someone today to thank them for the difference they are making?
