The Applause

“When an audience shares your prejudices, you can always count on their applause.” - Marty Rubin

Hello dear,

How do you do?

So, I recently took a long trip, approximately 23,000 miles. The kind where your back starts aching, your neck feels like it's been through a wrestling match, and you begin to question all your life choices, like why can’t I afford to fly business class yet?

Now, during one of our numerous (and thankfully successful) stops, something peculiar happened. As the plane touched down, a ripple of applause broke out among the passengers. I’m talking full-on clapping, like we had just completed a Broadway performance or narrowly escaped a shark attack mid-air.

I was caught off guard. Not because it was new; I’ve traveled before and witnessed this spontaneous airport-style ovation. But it felt foreign to me in that moment. I'd completely forgotten people did that. Since arriving in this country, I’ve skillfully avoided flights like I avoid group chats with 1000 unread messages. So hearing that applause mid-cabin felt…strange.

For a brief second, I even wondered, “Did we just do something heroic?”

But on my return flight, something even stranger happened.

I clapped too.

Not because I thought the pilot was perfect. Not because the turbulence was absent. Not because I thought the crew had gone above and beyond. And not because I was swept away by emotion. Honestly…I don’t even know why I clapped.

But I did.

And maybe that’s the whole point.

Maybe it wasn’t about the pilot at all. Maybe it was about being present. About joining in something shared. Maybe it was my way of saying, We made it. I’m still here. This moment matters.

And perhaps it was something deeper.

A reminder that we’re wired to praise. To respond. To acknowledge grace, even when we can’t fully explain it. In that brief moment, my hands responded before my mind could catch up because something inside recognized the goodness of the journey. The mercy in the mundane. The quiet protection I didn’t see but was carried by.

It reminded me of a verse:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” - Psalm 103:2 (ESV)

Sometimes we forget.

We forget the “everyday landings.” The ones that weren’t crash landings, the ones that didn’t make headlines but quietly kept us alive, steady, and moving forward. And then suddenly, a moment prompts us to remember. To applaud. To give thanks. A little clap. A silent nod to heaven. A shared sigh of relief. And suddenly, praise escapes us, not rehearsed, not fancy, but real.

So maybe the applause wasn’t about the pilot at all.

Maybe it was about me. Rejoining the rhythm of movement. Remembering what it feels like to go somewhere and come back.

Not because everything went perfectly. But because we made it.

And if that’s not worth clapping for, I don’t know what is.

So here’s to the unexpected applause, the return to old rituals, and the strange, beautiful ways we find our way back to each other, to ourselves, and God.

Song Suggestion: Passenger Seat by Claire Leslie

Warmly (and gratefully),

Faith, for the Royal Rubies.