(Blog written at 30,000 feet in a plane…)
I’ve been up since 3:30 am in preparation for my day of travel to Atlanta, Georgia. I’m going to Atlanta for a Christian young adults conference known as Passion. Chris Tomlin played worship here last year, the Giglio’s are speaking, I’ve been looking forward to this for months. I also get to share all this worship with on of my best friends and family members, Cailin. Anyway, back to what seems like the longest travel day in history-
I got off my first flight in Las Vegas around 7:20 and headed over to the next gate. Here, I sat and anxiously awaited for the plane to arrive. I sat and watched my phone battery drain as I watched YouTube videos, I people watched to an extreme because well, Las Vegas can be kind of a weird place. As they called up boarding group A I got up from the floor to sit in a chair because shocker, I didn’t check in to my flight until late last night so I was at the end of boarding group C. I was sitting down, head buried in my phone when a woman asked me, “Are you a Christian?”. This no joke, came out of this woman’s’ mouth. Kind of confused I said, “Yes…?”. She then proceeded to point at my foot with the words tattooed, “Send me”. She then asked if I was a missionary and if I was on my way to serve anywhere today. I explained to her the conference and who I was going with. But then I explained to her where I could be serving next year, she gave me a huge grin and said, “The Lord is leading you.”. People, I KID YOU NOT, this lady is sitting here making me teary eyes in a place I didn’t think would make me teary eyed. Her name was Emma. Emma told me about her daughter, who had been to South Africa, first decided to serve there, Emma said, “I told her, ‘If you feel called go, follow the call. If you don’t, absolutely don’t go.’ South Africa isn’t a place you want to be without the Lord.”. Emma’s other daughter had just gotten back from Guatemala and told me how absolutely amazing it was. She said the culture and the people and how present the Lord was in Guatemala. Two of the four places the Lord will be taking me within the next year.
Not only are her kids missionaries, but Emma herself is. She just came back from serving at a YWAM Hawaii base and she talked about how clear God made Himself in HI. The conversation continued; she was going to see her new granddaughter and more small talk just about her grandkids. She asked where I was from and we exchanged answers only to find we had been going to the same church. I met this woman, by not checking into my flight early enough, yet her and I have probably passed by each other a million times before. These are no coincidences. This is simply Jesus. I got to share my love for Jesus with someone else, who’s foundation in life was the same.
I will never stop being amazed by the timing of Jesus. I have yet to be disappointed or shocked that He makes things for our good. Emma left me incredibly blessed. She is a grandmother to 5 kids and is continuously serving the Lord no matter how much time goes on. Thank you Emma for making my travel day so much better.
