If you had a free round-trip ticket to anywhere, where would you go?
My immediate response: a free round-trip ticket is not about a free holiday—it is about a new opportunity to explore and venture beyond your horizon, to see what is not yet visible.
In 2001, I was given a free round-trip ticket to Canada—a lucky draw prize from my organisation’s annual ball. I didn’t have to choose where to go; the ticket chose for me. It flew me to Canada, my first visit to the country. Later, I was invited to attend a conference in Canada, so the ticket turned out to be a great and timely gift. In recollection, I came to realise that I didn’t choose the opportunity—the opportunity chose me—and saying yes turned out to be one of the wisest things I did.
That was my first overseas training conference, and it fell in the first week following the 9/11 incident. The catastrophic attack triggered a massive national—even global—security crisis, and the conference organisers altered the programme to include keynote speakers from renowned experts and leaders, along with weighty discussions about national security. It remains one of the best conferences I have ever attended.
I believe that every crisis is an opportunity in disguise—but never one we should seek at another’s expense. The timing of the free ticket, the timing of the conference, the timing of my invitation, and the timing of 9/11 all tied in together. 9/11 cost a great many lives, left many families broken, and caused the world to urgently demand counterterrorism. The conference widened my perspective on learning security and safety, and on how I could embrace global knowledge in serving the people of the city I dwell in.
So this one round-trip ticket I received and used helped reach a key milestone in building my career, broadening my professional circle, making friends with people from other countries, and—all the more—seeing what the eyes of faith can see (2 Corinthians 4:18).
So, my friends, may this sharing enlighten your thoughts on today’s prompt. And may an unexpected round-trip ticket be your venture into a new possibility.
