So as I’ve been home this past week I’ve been able to share stories from training camp with my friends and family. One story in particular that I’ve shared with only a few people has been on my mind lately and so I feel the need to share it with you.
When I was coming back from Georgia last Sunday I had about a four hour waiting period in the Atlanta Airport. I decided to grab some dinner as it got closer to the dinner hour. “This will be fun, I can people watch while I eat,” I thought. So I grabbed some food and a front row seat to watch the travelers pass by. It wasn’t too long before I was asked by a young man if he could sit by me. “Sure,” I answered. Now, I think it’s only appropriate that you know at training camp we were reminded of the importance of quieting ourselves long enough to hear God speak and so while I was sitting next to this guy I suddenly felt a strong urge to say something to him. “Oh gosh, no, I don’t need to say anything to him, besides, what would I even say?” I kept fighting it, but I kept feeling the need to talk to him. All of a sudden out of no where a voice says, “where you flying to?” and the voice belonged to me. “Oh crud, I did it, how will he respond? Yikes! Why did I do that?” He, however, turned to me and said, “California. Where are you traveling?” So I told him I was on my way to Detroit. He then asked if I was a student (no, but thanks for the compliment). I told him I work for a small, private Christian college in Michigan called Spring Arbor University. “Oh, no kidding, I go to Biola in CA (which is also a smaller, Christian college).” He then asked why I was in Georgia. I told him I was at a training camp for a year long missions trip called the World Race. He then started to laugh and said a good buddy of his, Aaron Bruner, is on the race right now. NO WAY! I couldn’t believe it! In that moment I just thought, “Man God, you’re good.” We then proceeded to chat a little while longer. I found out he is in his freshmen year and that he is originally from Georgia and since his dad is a pilot, he can fly home on the weekends to visit his family. He has also been on several short term missions trips. After chatting for a little bit longer, he realized he had to catch his plane. He asked me what my name was and then reached out to shake my hand saying, “Lauren, it was nice to meet you, I’m Conner and I’ll be praying for you.” Wow. I’m so glad God allowed our paths to cross that day in the airport. It was truly a blessing to be encouraged like that by a complete stranger. I cannot wait to see all the many blessings along the way during this next year of my life.
Peace & Blessings!
