Blessings in Disguise # 2 and 3

Imagine 403 seats packed into a narrow tube made of 127,000 pounds of high strength aluminum. You are in the center row, center seat, packed in between two people you don't know for the duration of a 12 hour flight. Twelve HOURS!!! No leg room. No arm room. No reclining. Who was the genius who thought that would be a great idea????

Was it a blessing or a terror?

Well, at first thought I would say a terror. I am not really a people person, so I don't talk with strangers very well. I despise having people crammed into my personal space. And, small talk is not in my vocabulary. I was in my own personal hell on that plane, but even there...God abided.

Blessing in Disguise #2 and 3

While sitting there trying to be content listening to Acapella on my iPod, I found myself bored. (Surprise, surprise!) So, I took off my earphones and started to look for something else to keep my mind occupied. When I found nothing of interest in my bag, I leaned my head back with a heavy sigh and thought of a nap. It was just then that the lady sitting on my left thigh, spoke up unexpectantly.

Startled by her voice, I jumped. She quickly apologized in very broken English, but I assured her I was okay. She took my smile as an invitation to begin a conversation with me. It was difficult to hear in that stuffy little space where everyone had their air vents going full blast. But as I strained to make out her words, I heard much more than her sweet little voice talking to me. I could swear I also heard the Lord.

She spoke of her country, Korea, and her family there. She was flying home to see her father one last time, for he was terminally ill and dying of cancer. She spoke of her husband who lived in Michigan and couldn't travel with her because of his job. She would be gone a month from America, and she already missed him.

I found her life to be very interesting, and caught myself asking her lots of questions about it. Like I said before, small talk is not my forte. But in this place with nothing else to do, I found it to be a blessing given by God. Asking what I would consider to be nosy questions, I learned that she had been a teacher in Korea but was unable to use her degree in America. She had several brothers and sisters, most of whom still lived in Korea. She had just recently gotten married but had a 20 year old step daughter. Her husband was Korean as well, even though they met in America.

About an hour into our conversation, the sweet lady said the most amazing, awe filled thing I heard the whole trip. She leaned in close so that I was sure to hear each word and spoke with complete confidence.

"This morning I asked God to sit me by someone on the plane that would help me with my English."

It was such a simple statement, but in my downtrodden heart, the light of the Lord was turned back on. I knew at that very moment, that God was there with me. That although I hated this place, I hated being alone there, I hated the stuffiness and the cramped conditions, He was there.

He had purposely sat me next to this woman who needed me. Or, maybe... He had purposely sat this woman next to me because she needed God. I'm not sure which. What I am sure of is that both of us received a blessing that day. What a place to be blessed..crammed into a stuffy old airplane for twelve endless hours!

Thank you Lord for continually showing me the blessings in disguise that I couldn't even fathom a week ago. I don't know why you sent me around the world in three days, but I hope that even through my indigence, I accomplished the work you meant for me to do.

I love you, Lord.