Flying with wee ones can be quite a challenge. The air pressure often hurts their ears and having to sit still for hours is difficult, even for some adults. Miserable would be a good word to describe how the poor children feel, not to mention the suffering of the passengers nearby who sympathize with a squalling baby or a fussy toddler.
There have been some in-flight angels we’ve all heard about who rescue crying babies from weary moms, singing them lullabies and reading to them from book after book. These are complete strangers who only want to lend a helping hand.
Wrangling bags and toddlers through an airport and on board their plane proved to be too much for one mom flying solo with her sons. But three strangers helped rock one child to sleep and the other two women played games with the other son, keeping him entertained and offering mom some much-needed respite.
Then there are kids who nervously fly alone. It can be hair-raising enough to catch a flight as an adult, so imagine being a child all by herself on a plane with only strangers nearby.
Pastor Josh Haltom was flying from Indianapolis to Baltimore. He sat down near the little girl when he realized she was on her own. He noticed that many passengers were avoiding sitting near her.
She was very excited about her flight, a bit nervous, and full of boundless energy during boarding.
Eventually, a couple sat down beside her with no clue just how their flight was going to progress. There was no relaxing in store for these two and they seemed to be wonderfully good sports about it, Josh observed.
“Within minutes the young girl began chatting and the couple likely realized this wouldn’t be a relaxing flight…and they just rolled with it. As drinks were being served the couple didn’t even get a chance to voice their requests because they were cut off by the young girl stating, ‘I’ll take water with a straw and so will they so we can paint!'”
And the couple didn’t mind one bit. The little girl whipped out her Hello Kitty paint-with-water sheets and the couple spent the next hour abiding by the younger girl’s instructions as to how to properly create their masterpieces.
But the little girl wasn’t done with her newfound friends just yet, Josh observed.
“As I type this the man next to her is being covered with Marvel stickers. They are on his ears, in his beard, arms, everywhere. And he is just rolling with it. Moral of the story: There is good in this world. In fact, there is more good than bad in this world if we just open our eyes to it. There isn’t a script or instruction manual for love. You just have to roll with it.”
While the couple who sat beside the little girl may have envisioned a soothing flight, what they did ended up meaning the world to this little girl and to her mother whom she was flying to visit. A little bit of compassion can truly go a long way in this world.
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