It finally happened my sweet friends. I had a passenger board our airplane in Lexington who told us he personally knew our airline CEO. Now a passenger telling a Skytress or Skyter they know our airline CEO is something we hear ad nauseum. I’ll admit. Not once have I believed a passenger when they told me they personally knew our CEO. No siree. This information is usually revealed by a passenger who is angry, arrogant, or just a plain goofball. So, I take their comment with a grain of salt. However, this time I absolutely believed the passenger. Especially because he was a priest. A priest that showed us pictures of he and our CEO meeting with Pope Francis. Guess Father Jim knows Skytresses and Skyters can be skeptical about things. A picture can say a thousand words. It can also make the most skeptical Skytress or Skyter a believer. I quickly learned Father Jim is one of our most loyal passengers. We couldn’t be more blessed to have him fly with us. Having Father Jim on my flight was a blessing from God. Yessiree. I knew it the minute he stepped on our airplane, handed us a gift card and asked to take a selfie with us.
Father Jim was very unassuming when he boarded the plane. Well, unassuming that he was actually a priest. Father Jim wasn’t wearing his white clerical collar when he boarded the airplane. No siree. He wore a simple black hoodie. His vibrant blue and black glasses were exceptionally hip. His energy was exhilarating. I unequivocally knew the Holy Spirit flowed through every cell of Father Jim’s body. And this was before Father Jim revealed to us that he was a priest. As soon as Father Jim boarded our plane he asked my Skytress In-Charge and I to pick a card. He has holding five Starbucks cards in his hand. He had a gift card for each Skytress on the crew and our two pilots. If you are a frequent reader of, “The Rerouted Skytress”, you know how Skytresses and Skyters love to receive gifts from our passengers. Starbucks cards and candy are absolutely at the top of our “favorites” lists. After Father Jim handed us the gift cards, he asked us to stand next to him so he could take a selfie. My Skytress In-Charge then questioned Father Jim about him knowing our CEO. She was quite skeptical when he mentioned he was having dinner with our CEO and other executives at our airline. I’ll admit. I was more curious than skeptical. Father Jim sensed he had one, possibly two, Doubting Thomas’s on his hand. So he scrolled through his phone to show us several pictures of himself and our CEO. There was Father Jim in his black priest attire with our CEO standing before Pope Francis. I immediately recalled seeing the story on our airline website about our CEO meeting with Pope Francis. More importantly, I recalled seeing Father Jim’s picture in the article. I was truly fascinated by Father Jim. I was curious how this exuberant priest from Lexington was present when our CEO met Pope Francis. So, I did what everyone does. I googled Father Jim. I quickly learned Father Jim is a Catholic Priest of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky. He is one of a thousand priests worldwide,…one of a hundred in the United States, ….commissioned by Pope Francis to be one of his Papal Missionaries of Mercy. In essence, Father Jim travels around the world preaching the Gospel and teaching about Jesus Christ through his life experiences and stories. He has been ordained by Pope Francis to conduct random acts of kindness to spread God’s word. I also learned Father Jim loves to take selfies. Oh boy does he!
My Skytress In-Charge asked me if I wanted to work first class for her. I knew she wasn’t a fan of flying In-Charge. Since I was the newest member of Father Jim’s fan club I wholeheartedly agreed to work first class. When I offered the snack basket to Father Jim, I smiled and confessed to him I had googled him before we took off. I even blurted out I was going to purchase his books I saw he had written. He smiled. I admitted to Father Jim I knew I was supposed to meet him that day. I’ve come to learn Father Jim hears this statement daily from many people he meets. Interestingly, Father Jim flipped the script on me. He wanted to know more about me. He asked me how long I had been a Skytress. I told him I had just started my 33rd year. I laughed when I told him my original plan was to be a Skytress for a year. We chit chatted about where I lived. Father Jim was aware most of us do not live in our base city. Then he asked me if he could take a selfie with him after the flight. Without hesitation, I said yes.
When Father Jim deplaned, we stepped into the jetway and he snapped a selfie with me. He told me he was going to tell our CEO about me later that day. Since I had become a huge Father Jim fan, I saw that he had a twitter account. I clicked on it. There was the picture of myself and my Skytress In-Charge huddled next to Father Jim holding up our Starbucks card. My Skytress In-Charge and I giggled when I showed it to her. I then noticed Father Jim had a Facebook account. So, of course, I clicked on it. Father Jim had posted our picture on it, too. Later when my crew and I were waiting for our airplane to Tallahassee to arrive, I commented on Father Jim’s Facebook post. Minutes later Father Jim responded. He responded with a screenshot of a text he received from our CEO. Our CEO had texted Father Jim thanking him for telling him about me. Our CEO texted he would be reaching out to me. I was floored. And humbled. Two days later my supervisor called me. He said I received a complimentary letter that was addressed to our airline CEO and other executives. All the executives had responded to the letter. I was gobsmacked.
I was completely touched by Father Jim’s random acts of kindness. Receiving the Starbucks gift card was lovely. Receiving the complimentary letter was indescribable. Well, actually it was a godsend. I’ll admit. Prior to my encounter with Father Jim I had been feeling quite melancholy. I couldn’t shake the feeling no matter how hard I tried. I didn’t fly the week of the anniversary of Ron’s passing and birthday. I always choose not to fly this week; simply because it is too hard. Instead, I prefer to be at home doing happy things to remember and honor Ron. Yessiree. I had a beautiful week doing special things to honor Ron. When it was time to go back to work, my heart just wasn’t in it. I’ll admit. I did a lot of praying on my jumpseat hoping I would get out of the funk I was in. I, also, deeply contemplated quitting ….well, at my seniority it would be considered retiring…. and looking for another career. A career that would once again fill my heart with joy. Of course, God was listening to my prayers. So, he sent selfie enthusiast Father Jim my way.
Father Jim definitely brought the much prayed about joy back into my life. Amazingly, the more I learned and read about Father Jim, the more my soul filled with joy. Father Jim is quite the dichotomy. Yes. He is a priest. But, he is human. He is not perfect. Nor professes to be. He uses himself as the example to teach lessons. He admits to the times he is ……in his words… a jerk….A sinner….A lost soul. More importantly, he talks about his faith. He talks about God always placing him in the right spot. Some would say, these moments were unexplained miracles. Father Jim would say it was God being God. Well, let me tell you, God was being God when Father Jim walked on to my airplane. I’ve read both of Father Jim’s books. I watched several YouTube posts of Father Jim’s “60 minutes with Jesus”. I laughed and cried. Father Jim’s stories reinforced my belief in God’s miracles. Father Jim is a faithful shepherd taking care of his flock. He takes care of his flock through preaching the Gospel, through stories, through random acts of kindness….and yes, through his numerous selfies. My sweet readers, I pray one day you too are blessed to meet the divine Father Jim. I know he will make you smile a Heavenly smile. Then he will most assuredly take a selfie. It will be glorious!