Between Airports: Finding Meaning When Everything Felt Heavy

Aching shoulders. Too many airports. A suitcase that felt heavier with every city. I had spent a month on the road, and somewhere between terminals, a quiet question cut through the noise: Is this worth it? What is the meaning of all this?

It’s easy to find significance in the beautiful moments: the worship services, the deep conversations, the breathtaking places. But those moments are often hidden behind exhaustion, inconvenience, and long, unseen stretches of effort.

One day, I found myself standing in a hotel hallway, unable to remember my room number. The only numbers that came to mind were from previous hotels. Eventually, my husband heard me and opened the door. We laughed at how “ditsy” I seemed, but it was also a reflection of my physical and mental exhaustion.

And yet, here I am now, sitting in the sunshine in the picturesque town of Büsingen, trying to process it all. This week, I’ve been reflecting on something I first learned from reading Scripture: to understand any passage, you need its larger story. I’ve come to believe the same is true for life. There is no meaning without context.

Without context, this life might look unreasonable. Someone reading my story might think, Why endure all of that? Why not stay home and live a peaceful life?

But here’s the context.

I come from a township in Johannesburg, South Africa, where opportunities to travel were rare, and when they came, they were limited to driving distance, often through the local church.

So again and again, I had to pause, and take in where I was.

Standing in the freezing beauty of a winter wonderland in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Walking among the historic castles of Scotland.

Sitting at tables filled with people speaking languages I could not understand.

Receiving hugs from mothers around the world.

Each moment filled me with awe.

I watched young people worship God in languages unfamiliar to me, hands lifted, eyes closed, joy overflowing. Their worship was contagious. I couldn’t help but join them.

I listened to leaders discuss the Kingdom of God: how to strengthen the church and support believers as they live as salt and light in an increasingly complex world.

And in all of this, I was learning. Growing. Changing.

I was being drawn deeper into the truth that my life is not a random collection of experiences; it is part of a bigger story God is writing. Every act of obedience, every inconvenient “yes,” is participation in His unfolding mission across the earth.

Through it all, I served Jesus: encouraging and praying for leaders, preaching and teaching the Word of God, and witnessing the beauty of His global church.

One moment, in particular, stayed with me.

After I preached, two women invited me to sit with them during a tea break. One was preparing to become a member of the church. The other had only started attending the week before. They shared how the message had spoken deeply and personally to their hearts. I took their names so I could pray for them.

That moment, that connection, made everything worth it.

I would travel around the world a hundred times for a single moment like that.

Maybe your version of this looks different. Maybe it’s not airports and suitcases, but sleepless nights, invisible work, or a long season of waiting. The setting changes, but the question is the same: Is this worth it? So how do we find meaning in the middle of the journey? In the exhaustion, the heaviness, and the unpredictability of life?

We follow the example of Jesus.

Jesus knew exhaustion. He knew what it meant to be misunderstood, to pour Himself out for people who didn’t always receive it, to walk a road that looked like failure to everyone watching. And yet He kept going. Why? Because He could see what others couldn’t. He held on to the joy that was waiting on the other side of the suffering. He didn’t find purpose by avoiding the hard parts. He found it by walking straight through them, with His eyes fixed on what the Father had promised. And He invites us to do the same.

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Travel frustrations may seem small or irrelevant compared to life’s deeper struggles. But the same principle applies to all of us. If you want to find meaning in everyday life:

• Remember where you came from. Notice how far you’ve come, even if it’s only a few steps.

• Look for value in the present moment: the light breaking through the shadows, even if it’s just a glimmer.

• Fix your eyes on your destination, and hold on to hope.

In the end, it will be worth it all.

But you don’t have to wait for the end to know it. The meaning is already here, woven into the weariness, the wonder, and every quiet “yes” along the way. You are living a story worth telling. And you are loved in every chapter of it.