It's Not Always "All About You"

Here goes blogging after a loooong hiatus. Forgive me if I'm a little rough.

This past summer I had the privilege of being a part of a missions team heading to Gdansk, Poland to work with children at a camp - basically putting together a VBS of sorts. It was a wonderful trip full of great experiences and stories, but the story that impacted me most was the journey getting there.

We were scheduled to leave on Thursday, June 27th. Our flights had been booked months in advance, but on the Monday prior to leaving, our flights had been slightly altered, so we each received an email with the updated itinerary. This was the first time I had the opportunity to look at the full, detailed flight plan, so when I opened the email at 11:00pm Monday night...my stomach dropped. They had booked my flight under the name Trish. Most of you are probably wondering why that's such a big deal, but my full name is actually Patricia (although I've never been called that...and please don't start :)), so as far as security was concerned, my ticket didn't match my passport and was therefore not a valid ticket. I notified the "people in charge" and Tuesday was spent making various phone calls to see if there was any way to change the name on the ticket, but no such luck. I even drove out to the airport Wednesday morning as a last ditch effort to see if they could do something, but their hands were tied. So, Wednesday (the DAY before our departure) I had to rebook my flight.  That in itself was quite the process, but by some miracle of God, I was able to find the exact same itinerary as my team minus the first flight from Nashville to Chicago.

Thursday rolls around and I took off for the airport around 2:00pm. My team was scheduled to leave around 1:00 but their flight had been delayed, so I actually met up with them at the airport before they took off at 3:00.  I took off shortly after, with no delays, but as we were getting ready to land in Chicago, we managed to hit a 15-minute thunderstorm that caused us to be rerouted to Grand Rapids. We refueled and headed back to Chicago, but it was too late. The flight to Poland with my team on it had taken off just 10 minutes earlier.

I spent the next several hours trying to figure out what the next steps needed to be, and thankfully the airline was very accomodating and rebooked my flights for the following day. I attempted to get a hotel without much luck and finally caved to just waiting it out at the airport.

Sometime after midnight, unsure of what to do next, I just sat on a bench near the ticketing counters with a college girl I had befriended who had missed the same flight. We were both laughing over the situation and trying to figure out where to "camp out" for the night when a woman approached us, exasperated and crying.  She asked, "Do you have any money?" I'll be honest, for whatever reason that question always catches me off-guard and causes me to feel immediately cautious. I asked what she needed money for and she began to tell me how she had driven cross-country to help her sister move and had intended to fly back to Chicago and take the bus the rest of the way.  When her flight came in late, she missed her original bus and was no longer able to use the kiosk (it was closed) which was the only credit card option. At this hour it was a cash-only transaction to ride the next bus. Through tears she explained how she had asked every person in baggage claim for money, but to no avail. At this point I'm imagining it must be a large amount of money, but I desperately want to help. I ask, "how much do you need?" to which she responded..."twenty-seven dollars". Twenty. Seven. Dollars. That's it?! Immediately I felt fury rise within me that out of everyone she had run into, not one person had been willing to give up twenty-seven dollars. Not even a dollar here or there to aid in the process (I do understand that people don't carry around a lot of cash these days - myself being one of those people, but come on! Twenty-seven dollars?! Go find an ATM in the airport if nothing else!). I handed her the cash and we chatted a bit more about our journeys that day and then I wished her well as she said goodbye.

That night I slept in my hammock at Chicago O'Hare which was a really fun (although cold) adventure. It took me 44 hours of travel to get to Poland and then a total of 7 days before I received my luggage. It was quite the journey. In fact, this was the passage from Jesus Calling the day I got stuck...

Rest with Me a while. You have journeyed up a steep, rugged path in recent days. The way ahead is shrouded in uncertainty. Look neither behind you nor before you. Instead, focus your attentionon Me, your constant Companion. Trust that I will equip you fully for whatever awaits you on your journey.

I designed time to be a protection for you. You couldn't bear to see all your life at once. Though I am unlimited by time, it is in the present moment that I meet you. Refresh yourself in My compnay, breathing deep draughts of My Presence. The highest level of trust is to enjoy Me moment by moment. I am with you, watching over you wherever you go.

Whew. It still gives me goosebumps every time I read it, but here's the most amazing part of what He was trying to tell me...

None of it was about me.

You know those moments in life where you're running late or you get lost and you often think "it was probably God's protection. Had I left on time, maybe I would have been in that accident I passed or had I gone the right way the first time, maybe I wouldn't have encountered so-and-so"? Well, this most certainly would have fit that mold except for one pretty major detail. My team was on my original flight - and they made it safe and sound at their scheduled time. So why did I have to go through so much trouble to get there?

I had a lot of time to think about things (44 hours to be exact :)) but sometimes I "think" too much and don't listen enough. When I finally stopped and opened myself up to hear, God just said, "this wasn't about you". He brought me back to the woman who desperately needed just twenty-seven dollars and he said, "I did this for her".

Wow.

To think that God loved her enough...no, not enough...SO much that he was willing to reroute my journey just so I would be in the right place at the right time when she needed only twenty-seven dollars...it still blows me away. It makes me see and experience his love in a whole new light.

So I just want to encourage you as this has encouraged me. When life throws you curveballs (and sometimes, let's be honest, it just flat out seems to punch you in the face), stop and listen. Be obedient. Pray for those that are involved. It's easy to wonder why things happen and most certainly why things happen specifically to you, but what if in the midst of your trial, God is using you for his glory and even though you may never even know it, He's used you to change the course of someone's life.

And all it may take is twenty-seven dollars.