Sunday, August 06, 2006

Wow! I don’t think I can adequately describe the excitement that is on a rolling boil within my soul! Flying on this plane is awesome! Right now, it’s 8:55 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time, and we’re passing over the Labrador Sea en route to Frankfort.

My heart is glad. Already a prayer request has been answered. I’ve been praying all summer for the people whom I will sit next to on the plane, that I would be able to share the love of Jesus with them. While I have the beautiful scenery outside the window to my left (I’m sitting in seat 35A in the economy section), I have the most pleasant lady sitting next to me on the right. Her name is Barbara, and she’s originally from Poland. Now she lives in Shelby, MI, with her husband, and she’s flying to Poland to visit some relatives. Throughout our ongoing conversation, I’ve learned that they have two sons, 32 and 34, who are both grown. Her youngest son has a child, and she’s a proud “old grandma,” as she refers to herself :) . She enjoys flying, yet she always gets nervous on the take-off (I thought was awesome, by the way). They just turned off the lights in the plane…how fun! Barbara insists that she doesn’t speak very good English, but in talking with her, I’ve found that she speaks it very well and comprehends even more than she can speak. However, her dialect is difficult to understand every once in a while (I originally thought that her name was Bara-Bara :) ). I asked her how she learned English, since she was over 40 years old when she began to learn it. She said that she’s always tried to listen to English as it’s spoken on plane rides (she travels to Poland with her husband 3-4 times a year) and in other venues. In listening, she’s learned so much! In many ways, she has summarized what I aim to do in the Russian culture this year. I intend to spend a lot of time in observation, absorbing all there is to see and listening to the mouths and hearts of the people I pass and meet. With God’s help, I plan to learn much by listening!

As our conversation progressed, I eventually learned that Barbara’s first husband died when they were both very young. They had been living in Poland, and one night he drank too much vodka, which then caused a fatal heart attack. Barbara was stripped of the love of her life and entered into the lonely life of a widow. When I asked her how she was able to deal with the loss of her husband, she said, “I just did it.” I’ve noticed that she’s a woman of few words; she gets right to the point. Some time after this tragedy, she was invited to the U.S. to visit relatives during this mourning period. She had never been to the States before, and her main purpose in coming was to find work, to move on in her life. Little did she know that shortly after arriving, she would meet her wonderful second husband! When I asked Barbara if she still missed her first husband, she said, “No. He’s been gone for 20 years. I miss the husband I left in Michigan!” Wow! What a valuable lesson she just taught me! Why in life do we so often hold onto hurts that are long in the past? Why do we refuse to let the healing salve of time to do its work? Why do we “delete” the “files” of ill ideas, bitter relationships, awful tragedies, and frequent frustrations, yet still go back to the “recycle bin” and “restore” the items again? What is behind is gone forever! We refuse to cling onto our moving God in this moment because our hands are too occupied with our pitiful pasts. If God’s moved on, why can’t we? He’s calling all of us to embrace what He’s up to NOW, to seek after Him with all of our heart. It is in seeking Jesus that we see-King Jesus! When we constantly and consciously occupy our minds with Him, we will know and love Him in much the same way Barbara loves her husband. When she’s away from him, it hurts, and she misses him terribly. There’s something about the absence of a person that helps us comprehend and appreciate their presence so much better.

One of the many challenges in the year ahead is for me to live in the presence of my Lord at all times. I know that I can be as close to God as I choose to be (James 4:7), but will I choose Him? God has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He’s the only being Who will never be absent. He is the perfect friend, the ultimate Being, because wherever we are, He Is (or should I say, because He Is, we are :) ). Barbara’s husband can’t be with her on this flight, nor can my family be with me, but Jesus can. He never leaves me – what an astounding truth! Will I choose to remain faithful to Him, to never leave Him? Lord, I am going to a new place, but I remain in the same Presence. Thank you for being with me. Thank you that “[You are] a God who knows” (1 Samuel 2:3). You know all that will happen this year. You know all the precious people I will meet. You know my limitations and how you’ll stretch them. You know the difficulties that you’ve particularly crafted to shape my character to be more like Your Son’s. You know my class – their composition, disposition, and position in relation to You. You know the words I need to read, the words I need to hear, the words I need to think, and the words I need to speak. You know my desires and my anxieties. You know my pride before I can ever recognize it. You know me. You know. Please impart Your wisdom to me, that I might know You, Your thoughts, Your words, and Your ways. I will follow You.

Everyday, it’s You I live for.

Everyday, I’ll follow after You.

Everyday, I’ll walk with You, my Lord!

Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to connect with Barbara. Thank you for giving me the idea to show my pictures to her…which eventually led to the picture of “our tombstone” and a conversation about my walk with You. You are faithful! Bless her life, richly, O Father! I’m so excited about the adventure that lies ahead. Give me a pure and simple heart, I pray! I love You!

Below are pictures of the beautiful view from the plane to Frankfurt and Barbara and me.