I sat in my seat on a cross country flight. As always, I was buried deep in my work in order to distract myself from the boring drone of the engines and to take me mentally away from the mundane nature of yet another air plane trip.
As I sat there I could not help but over-hear the conversation taking place behind me between a father and his son. What a beautiful exchange. The father was explaining the wing of the aircraft and the physics of lift. The conversation continued for almost the entire flight. What struck me was not the content of the conversation but the fact that this father was actively participating in the experience of life with his son. What a beautiful relationship and expression of a fathers love. Moreover, the distinction within me, that such a conversation was an exception and not the rule.
I was moved by the love in the fathers voice and the excitement in the voice of his son as they shared and exchanged the learning opportunity of this travel experience.
I buried myself in my work and continued to my destination.
The conference that weekend was wonderful, and I found it necessary to cancel my return flight and spend an extra night providing mentoring for one of the conference participants.
Monday morning found me once again settling in, preparing for yet another cross country flight to my next conference.
As I placed my bag in the overhead compartment I glanced behind me and low and behold, a few rows back sat the same father and son duo. At that point I experienced that inner twinge, that prompt of the innate, that this was not just a coincidental happenstance.
Once airborne and in a position to "move about the cabin" I took three Blue Ribbons from my briefcase and introduced myself to the father and his son. I explained how I had been sitting in front of them on the previous Thursday, and how moved I was by the love and obvious connectivity between a father and a son.
I acknowledged the father for his attentive and loving leadership and dedication to his son. I then presented him with a Blue Ribbon and gave him two more and encouraged him to pass on this acknowledgement to two others who made a difference in his life.
A part of me wanted to acknowledge his son as well, yet that inner prompting within, told me no.
I returned to my seat and 'hunkered down' for the remainder of the flight.
A few minutes later, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I looked up from my laptop to see the brimming face of the young boy whose father I had acknowledged. He stood there before me wearing a Blue Ribbon placed proudly over his heart.
His eyes were moist yet the beam on his face told me that the moisture was representative of an expression of joy and happiness.
"Mr." he asked, "do you have any more of those Blue Ribbons? You see, my dad gave me a Blue Ribbon and told me how much he loved me and how proud he is of me. He told me how brave I am and how much I mean to him and how my being with him has made him strong. Then he gave me this Blue Ribbon." He pointed proudly to his heart and his Blue Ribbon.
"Then he gave me the other Ribbon," he said, "and told me to give it to someone who has made a difference in my life."
"Well Mr." he continued, "you see back there in the seats in front of my dad, the lady and the girl next to her? That's my mom and my sister. You see, a while back my dad and my mom decided to separate and were thinking about getting a divorce. My mom and sister went to live with my grandma and grandpa, and me and my dad stayed back home. We came out here last week to ask my mom to come home and see if we can make our family "work" again."
"They said yes, and now we are going back home together as a family."
"You see Mr., I only have one Blue Ribbon left to give away. I can't decide if I should give it to my mom or my sister. I have missed them so much, and I am so happy that they are coming back home with us. I sure would like to give them both a Blue Ribbon. Do you have one more?"
I could hardly contain my tears. I reached into my brief case and took out the remainder of the package of 100 Blue Ribbons I had with me. I handed them to the young man and asked him to make sure that he made sure to spread his love to all those who made a difference to him.
He graciously accepted these ribbons and returned to acknowledge his mother and sister.
A little while later as I glanced up from my work, I noticed the flight attendant moving past me, with a Blue Ribbon placed over her heart and saw protruding from the pocket of her uniform vest, two more Blue Ribbons. I knew then that the rest of the Ribbons were in good hands.
As I turned around to find the young boy, I discovered him sitting between his father and his mother and his little sister sitting on daddy's lap. All of them were wearing Blue Ribbons.
As our eyes met, there was a most loving and gracious nod of love and appreciation.
The enigmatic nature of this simple Blue Ribbon, once again promoting love and all that is pure and wonderful. At that point I realized that the success of the conference wasn't the only Business God had planned for this trip.
Thank you for prompting me to once again recognize the depth of gratitude I feel for all that is loving and wonderful in my life.
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