A retreat at 30,000 feet

For some people a flight is a time to watch films, read a novel, or sleep. But I discovered another opportunity on my three and half hour flight from Omaha to Seattle: a mini retreat.

The last two days at Creighton were a rush: final classes, final essays due, then, even before we'd finished those we were packing down kitchens and common rooms, people were packing their bags, and then started leaving. Some of them rushing and running down the hallway to get to a flight on time. There wasn't much of a sense of closure or finality. So the time on the plane was time to, as we say at Creighton, "gather the graces", that is, to reflect on all that has happened, to see God's hand in it all, and to give thanks.

I felt a rush of sadness as the plane taxied toward the runway, wishing I could stay just one more day. But there's nothing there to stay for. The people who make the experience have already dispersed. The experience of Creighton is a confluence of people coming from across America and from around the world with an intentionality and intensity of focus that couldn't be sustained for a longer time anyway. It has to be enjoyed, then let go of.

So I spent the first hour of the flight, nestled into the window seat watching Omaha disappear beneath me and Nebraska give way to Wyoming taking stock of the learnings and experiences of the past two months, some of which I've already written about in the blog. Then I had time to close my eyes, pray, fall asleep, wake up, then pray again, giving thanks for such an extraordinary experience.

Aeroplanes are such liminal places. Unless you're travelling with someone, you're completely alone, not knowing anybody else for perhaps a thousand miles. There's no communication, no distraction, and I often find myself praying, as I did on this flight, "well Jesus, it's just you and me now".

And something in that liminal space became the changeover for me from my single minded focus on the community at Creighton I was with and what I was learning, to setting my heart for home. I started to let go of the summer (our winter) away, and prepared to re-enter normal life again.

I've got three days in Seattle with my friends Eric and Nicole, which is also a nice in between time before coming home.