Here’s the gist of what’s happening with a prayer…

Fasten your seatbelts, folks! United Airlines is tired of your mumbling and shuffling in the boarding queue. They're rolling out WILMA (Window, Middle, Aisle)—not Fred Flintstone's better half, but a boarding strategy aiming to trim your wait by a whopping two minutes! Now, skeptics might sniff at the time saved as inconsequential, but in the "time is money" world of airlines—and for those of us making last-minute dashes to the duty-free—every second counts.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for small innovations that make big differences. Just as United takes a step to improve the travel experience, help us recognize the "mustard seeds" in our own lives—small changes that can yield great harvests. Guide us in our relationships, our spiritual walk, and our personal growth, teaching us that every minute counts and that incremental progress is still progress. Amen.

To Shrub or Not To Shrub:
California’s Fiery Dilemma

We’ve all experienced this at some point in our lives. The grueling onboarding process to get on a plane, inching forward behind people, waiting for that one guy to find a place to fit his luggage that shouldn’t have been allowed onto carryon. It’s a slog. We are pleased to report that our collective groaning has reached the ears of United Airlines. United Airlines has announced a revolutionary change that promises to shave some time off the boarding process. Effective October 26, the airline will initiate a new boarding process—window seats first, followed by middle seats, and then aisle seats. This WILMA strategy—no, it's not the search for the perfect Flintstones costume—stands for Window, Middle, then Aisle, and it aims to shave up to… Are you ready for this? Two minutes off the boarding time! Now, two minutes may not seem like much, but when you’re United Airlines, organizing thousands of flights daily, those minutes add up. Furthermore, this new formula is one small step in the right direction to innovate an inefficient process.

The Rationale: Speeding Up, One Seat at a Time
United isn't new to the boarding game. The company did its homework and cited an increase in boarding times by up to two minutes since 2019. Two minutes might not seem like much to those of us caught in the web of an airport romance novel, but in the aviation world, that's akin to leaving the oven on overnight—a small mistake that adds up in the long run. After rigorous tests at five airports, the airline concluded that the WILMA process was faster.

The change won't affect pre-boarding groups—unaccompanied minors, people with disabilities, active-duty military, and families with small children will still board first as usual. This new policy will also apply to U.S. domestic flights and select international routes, including flights to the Caribbean, Canada, and certain Central and South American cities.

Zooming Out: A Broad Perspective
Plane boarding experts—yes, they exist like airline food critics—agree that the window-first approach is a step in the right direction. But while the process is slicker, it's not the epitome of boarding perfection. There are, after all, myriad variables, like human behavior (you can't control that guy who treats the aisle as his personal yoga studio) and overhead bin space (the Holy Grail of modern air travel). But kudos to United for at least trying to engineer a solution, even if it isn't aerospace engineering.

Skepticism: Could This Backfire?
It's not all blue skies, of course. Critics argue that this may create a stampede of passengers jockeying for the 'right' seats when booking, potentially leaving middle seats—which are already as popular as a dental appointment—empty. While this isn't high-school cafeteria politics, it's pretty close. Will airlines start charging more for window seats? Might they assign them randomly to avoid what could turn into a seating caste system? Only time will tell.

Small Changes, Big Impact
United is looking at both the minute details and the bigger picture. Their focus on continuous improvement, even if it's just saving two minutes, speaks to a principle that's even larger than the looming cost of jet fuel. It's the idea that a million small changes can equate to a revolution. It's a concept that speaks not just to airlines, but to all of us in the hustle and bustle of modern life.

In the Bible, Jesus spoke of the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds that grows into a large tree. The principle is simple yet profound: small changes can lead to significant outcomes. United's decision might save just two minutes per boarding process, but multiplied across thousands of flights, it's a sea change.

God encourages us not to despise the days of small beginnings. No matter how minuscule, each effort to innovate and improve holds the potential for substantial change. So, as you board your next United flight and find yourself efficiently nestled into your window seat, consider how you, too, can bring about change, starting with the little things. Are there issues in your marriage? Have you been struggling with your devotional life? Are there bad habits you’ve formed over time? Don’t get trapped into thinking everything needs to be 100% solved all at once. Often, small changes each day add up to make a lasting impact.

Thank you for joining us today on PRAY NEWS. It is our aim to be informed and transformed. We pray today you will proceed with hope, love, and determination to be a force for good.