Sometimes they’re chosen for you.
We started our flight to El Salvador in Atlanta, Georgia,
on an airline I had never flown before:
Spirit.
I took it as a positive sign and wondered why I had failed to see the significance of it when I had first heard of the flight plans.
But now I grasped it and my thoughts flew this route:
Spirit! Pneuma. Breathe deep.
Inhale in His grace; exhale out His praise.
Drink in the Spirit and be anxious for nothing.
My turn to check in for the flight on Spirit Airlines brought me to Leland’s counter at Hartsfield International Airport.
Leland, with an accent of a different land that caught my attention.
Leland, who wanted to confirm where I was going.
Leland, who asked me why I was going there.
And when I told him, this is what Leland told me:
I will pray for you.
I’m glad you are on a mission.
We need to pray for each other.
I breathed deep. Thank you, Lord, for sending Leland—of Spirit Airlines—as one of my companions on this journey. The first of many, many I was to see on the trip, in addition to the ones that had already begun with me months earlier through prayers and words of encouragement.
- Who are your companions on your journey?
- Who have you chosen to walk alongside you?
- Who has chosen you?
- Are you aware you’re also traveling with the Spirit?
Be attentive to the Spirit’s companionship. His presence stays with you—whether on home turf or high in the sky or when your feet touch down in strange new places. The Spirit confirms your travel plans and intercedes for you on your mission.
Think about your other traveling companions.
- Are they helpful along your journey?
- Are they ones you pray for?
- Are they ones who pray for you?
Has God sent you a Leland lately?
* * *
Besides the Spirit himself, who else are you traveling with today?
I thank God for you—my friends in daily life and in the blogosphere—who are encouraging spiritual companions along my journey.
12 comments:
oh Lisa...I love this...from that great picture...love the shot you took...to the message.....Stay safe and strong out there....☺
Thanks, Sarah. Credit for the picture goes to my daughter Jenna. She took some amazing shots on our trip. I thank God that she was one of my companions there and that she’s still my companion back home!
Such a timely message! Love it. We are going on vacation soon. Although our mission is fun, I know God goes with us!
Yes, I am glad that God goes with us on vacations too. :-) We left 12 hours after our “mission” trip to go on a family vacation with my in-laws. It was a mission too — to celebrate their 50 years of marriage. Such a blessing to all of us.
Have a great time on your vacation!
Very well said. Everyone we come in contact with, is brought there by God for some purpose...not just chance, but appointments set by Him. If we could just remember this as we look into their faces, and be ready to give the blessing...or receive it. Oh how that would change our days, and our lives!
Thank you for such a great post!
Charlotte
Charlotte,
“…be ready to give the blessing or receive it”
That requires us to trust Him, huh? To realize that He is in more control than we are. And that He knows what He’s doing. It’s really quite a comforting feeling. We are blessed to be under the care of such a powerful and good God.
How good of God to bring those encounters to you along the way!
Barbara,
It was especially neat because I was reading “Hinds’ Feet on High Places” and as Much-Afraid discovered the companions the Shepherd brought her way, I was looking for the ones he was bringing my way. Yes, he is good!
I always pray when I'm traveling and enjoy how God puts me with others and how He helps me share my faith, too! He's the best coordinator.
Bless you as you minister abroad.
Love,
Mary
You are right, Mary, that God is the best coordinator. Left to our own doing, we would never have the resources and creativity and power to do what he does for us, whether we’re traveling or ministering at home. I was so pleasantly surprised (although I shouldn’t have been!) by how he put the right people in my path at the right times.
Interesting post. I've heard of Spirit Airlines but not much. I'm glad you were introduced to it and to Leland, and I'm glad you shared your positive experience with us. I love it when God surprises us with the unexpected.
Blessings,
Charlotte
I love reading of the God-moments we experience on the course of our days. Won't it be fun for you to see Leland in Heaven.
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