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On the road with God
Whenever I take a trip, I think about one of my favorite verses from Psalms: “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (121:8). It reminds me that I am always cared for, whether at home or away. Since we are created in God’s image and likeness, as stated in the first chapter of Genesis, we are never separated from His tender love, because we are the very reflection of all the good that is God.
That’s why I wasn’t upset earlier this year when a Denver airport outside baggage checker informed me that my flight home had been cancelled. Everyone was being directed to a very long line inside the terminal where we’d be told our options once we reached the check-in counter.
I decided to put this waiting time to good use by checking the websites of various airlines on my iPhone to see if I could find an alternate flight. As I checked airline after airline, there didn’t seem to be anything available. When it was my turn at the counter, I was given the option of an evening flight on Thursday—in four days—or a partial refund. Since I had been praying diligently while waiting in line, and was listening for God’s direction, it took me only a moment to respond that I’d like the partial refund. I felt confident that God was caring for me and I’d be led to a satisfactory solution.
Part of my daily routine in the mornings is to read the Christian Science Bible Lesson, which is comprised of citations from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. That morning I had had very little time to read more than just the beginning of the Lesson for that week before heading to the airport. The Lesson opened with this reassurance: “God, even our own God, shall bless us” (Psalms 67:6). Knowing that every one of us is the loved child of God, dwelling in the allness of Love, I felt a natural trust as I walked through the airport, that everyone I passed would be able to feel God’s blessing in some way that day. This could include getting to where we needed to be, when we needed to be there, since we all shared the same challenge of cancelled flights.
My sister was expecting to pick me up and take me home after my flight arrived that afternoon, so I called to let her know of the delay. After I explained the situation, she read from the Lesson Moses’ message to the children of Israel, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to-day” (Exodus 14:13). Wow! That’s what I needed to do!
So, I did just that. I found a café table where I could sit and spend a few minutes in quiet communion with God. It’s been proven to me so many times in the past that God is the only power and He knows what we need even before we ask Him, and I prayed to remove any uncertainty and fear that would get in the way of the perfect peace that comes from total trust in God.
As I humbly asked God to show me the way forward, another favorite Bible verse came to mind: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). In a very short time the thought came to me to try an airline I travel on fairly often—one that I had checked earlier with no success. I hesitated briefly, thinking it was a waste of time since I’d already discovered there were no flights available, but then it occurred to me that this was an intuition from God. I entered the information into my phone and found there was one seat left on a flight departing first thing the next morning! I quickly reserved it and thanked God as I walked to a bank of phones so I could make a hotel reservation for the evening.
The joy I felt at that moment was almost overwhelming! I’d be able to get back in time to attend a church meeting the next evening that I felt I couldn’t miss, and also help with a family situation that had come up unexpectedly. God’s blessings certainly were clear to me that day … and they continue to unfold!