My eyes were still feeling a little crusty as we pulled up to the airport at 6:42am.

Mom turns around to the backseat and says, "tell us something inspirational." To be honest, my inspiration hadn't awaken yet. So I exhale and say -- it's hard to find inspiration so early.

Little did I know that inspiration was about to find me.

She turns back around and without skipping a beat says, "We can't be who we want to be... But we can be who we were created to be." I don't think I was really able to process what she had said until much later. Now hours have passed, and I can't stop living in that moment. There's never a bad time to be reminded to embrace who you were created to be. But especially, not on moving-to-a-brand-new-city day.

Downing one Dr. Pepper later, I was checking in to my Southwest flight to LaGuardia. In preparation for any airport visit, I always make sure to clear my pockets of all unnecessary items, especially any change. So I was a little surprised when I pulled out my ID to show the Southwest desk attendant and a lone penny flew out of my pocket and towards her, landing on the baggage scale.

Immediately, she nearly shouted, "Lucky penny!"

In that moment, I don't think I had even realized that I had lost a penny, so I must have looked at her as if to say, "huh!?"

She pointed down at the penny and said, "Good things are ahead, sweetie."

You'd be hard pressed to try and wipe-off the big dorky grin that appeared stuck to my face for the five minutes following that encounter.

Finally the caffeine had begun to kick in and it wasn't long before I was on the plane getting ready for wheels up and the adventure ahead. Just minutes before pulling away from the gate, we received word of a ground delay from LaGuardia -- meaning an hour and twenty minutes of sitting on the plane before takeoff.

It's in that moment that I realized there are two kinds of flying people.

The first kind get annoyed by everything when traveling. Each delay, each slow walker, each person who jumps ahead in line.

Then, there is the second kind which has learned to love (or at least embrace) the unexpected.

Thankfully, our pilot is of the second breed and soon after the delay has been announced, he gets on the loudspeaker to let us know that he will be giving tours of the flight deck in lieu of boredom today. Hopping up out of my seat, I make my way to the cockpit where the pilot offers to take my photo and we sit talking about the 3,490,141 gadgets inside. It leads to me asking what it's like to travel with another pilot for 4 days straight (especially if you get stuck with someone unpleasant). He says it's better than the month or two in the model they used to have.

Eighty minutes later - and the quickest flight delay ever - we're up in the air.

The next hour and a half I'll spend contemplating what it all means. I might have gone a little deeper than usual reading into the signs, but it feels like a very spiritual day. Just a few minutes into the flight and we break above the thick cloud cover which has been covering the mid-state. Pretty soon you can only see clouds below - but it's all sunshine up ahead.

Of course it got me thinking. (Everything gets me thinking.)

You know, the sun is always shining. Even when we can't see it from where we are. Yeah, I know some days you just can't shake the blues - it's like you can hear the funniest of jokes or be reminded of the most hilarious of memories. Yet somehow your body can't be moved to laugh. Your smile just can't be cracked, some days our hearts are just heavy. On those days, I hope you'll be reminded not to be so hard on yourself. It's only natural - some days just are cloudy. But beyond those clouds, the sun is still shining. Just as brightly as on the brightest of days. Lean into your emotions with the faith that it won't last forever. You are human - allow yourself to be. I get that it's not easy to enjoy the clouds, the delays or general unrest of life. But it's the part of life that reminds us that we are human - they are what connect us to one another. So that one day, hopefully in the very near future, we can break through these clouds and witness the sunshine together.