Last week a friend and I spent three wonderful days at a conference in Las Vegas. It was a sweet time of meeting new people in our field and reconnecting with old friends from around the country. This is the only conference in the nation that is geared specifically toward Executive Assistants in ministry, so time spent is rich! It may go without saying that, being geared for people in this role, days are scheduled to maximize every moment. They do a great job of balancing training with fun activities, but our brains were still swimming by the end of Day Three and we were ready to get home.
But Las Vegas didn’t want to let us leave.
Have you ever felt like you are walking in sand? Each step appears to be one of forward movement but the ground beneath your feet is slippery. Traction doesn’t really happen on sand the way it does on solid ground so forward movement is slower. Well, the Las Vegas airport seemed to be just such a desert for us!
While we were boarded with our fellow 198 passengers, we were alerted that a missing screw had to be replaced on the aircraft before the FAA would allow us to take off. Fair enough. So we sat chatting away, sending Marco Polos, and checking social media while waiting for the trusty maintenance crew to work their magic. Social media and news reports were keeping us all up to date on the fires happening around our hometown but we never dreamed one of them would close down the Colorado Springs airport. Yep, no flights in or out…including ours…still sitting at the gate.
So all 200 of us paraded out of the plane with instructions to stay close for next steps. What followed is too confusing to share in detail. Suffice it to say flight #1 was canceled, flight #2 was booked for the following day, flight #2 was traded for flight #3 and booked for later that night to a different city in Colorado. And then promptly delayed 4 times. As we sat at dinner, my adrenaline zapped, I transparently told Amy that I felt like crying. We paused to thank God for our food and these words fell out of my mouth, “Thank you, Father, that you know exactly where we are, and will get us exactly where we need to be, at the exact time we need to be there.”
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9
I would love to say that prayer was a direct result of my faith rising up in defiance of the odds we had faced – that I triumphantly declared and decreed the truth – that I was confident in God’s plan for us that day. But I hadn’t, and I didn’t, and I wasn’t. Yet the truth of scripture had bubbled up in the middle of an airport restaurant and the Spirit within me spoke what my mind couldn’t in that moment of frustration.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11
After years of walking with the Lord, His truth has been consistently tucked away in my heart. Little by little. Year after year. And in that moment of frustration, His truth emerged to remind my mind of His care over us. The Lord tucked us away in that terminal, perfectly safe, with everything we needed, and even gifted us with laughter along the way. He provided for all that we needed in His perfect timing. Honestly, I still don’t understand His timing that day! But I do know that He loves His girls and only has good gifts for us.
Do you feel like you’ve been walking in sand? Just can’t get the traction needed to take you where you want to be? Do you feel like you are wasting precious time on silly little distractions that are tripping you up? Let me assure you that the Lord sees you, knows where you need to be, and will get you there at the perfect time. Let His Spirit bubble out and speak truth over you and your situation. Let Him remind your mind of His care over you. Because He is a loving Father, omniscient God, and with every step wants you to know that…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 