Thursday, March 20, 2008

Perils of the Pauline Traveller...

I can't remember a time when I have had so many frustrations that
barred my way to a goal. I feel as though I have done something very
right, or very wrong to cause my perils. I believe I am doing
both...it just depends on the point of view. We would like to be a
testimony, and share God's Word on our journeys, in places that are
considered "enemy territory". That explains the road blocks thrown
in the way. On the other hand, the Lord just wants us to have a
taste of slipping into Paul's shoes, just to test us. He wants to
see if we are willing to let go, and watch Him work. He wants us to
be content along the way as well. I am understanding in a miniscule
way, what Paul went through to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles.
For instance...the first barrier was Mario's passport. We renewed it
in exactly one week. Amazing. The second, my 98 year old Mother was
admitted to the hospital a week ago to rule out TIA's which the
physicians discovered she did indeed have. The unexplainable thing
was that it did not impair her speech, thinking or mobility. How is
that for a miracle?! But there was a road block...she couldn't go
back to her assisted living facility (where she dearly wanted to go),
unless they could transfer her from bed to chair with one person
assisting. That's no small feat for my arthritic Mom, who was lying
in a bed for a week without therapy...one loses muscle control. But
it is no problem for our awesome God, and that afternoon, she was
able to transfer easily with one therapist, and was on her way back
home. Double amazing! I now didn't need to stay behind to arrange
her stay at another facility.
Thirdly, Saturday evening, I began having upper molar pain, and
thankfully, was able to schedule an appointment for Tuesday morning.
When I arrived, they took x-rays, and determined I probably needed a
root canal, but the endodontist, who was great with child, was
working out of her Chicago office that day (I was at that point, in a
far western suburb of the city), but they would call and see if she
could take me. I breathed a prayer to my omnipotent God, and
waited. To make a very long story short, by 5:30pm that evening, my
root canal was successfully completed. The God who asked,"Is
anything too hard for Me?", answered with another miracle. Two
patients had cancelled, leaving time to finish the job, and the tooth
had only one root, simplifying the procedure, which normally takes
2-3 appointments.
That same day, we received our itinerary, name tags, electronic
tickets and other important documents. Now, two more potential
perils stand in our way...the upcoming snowstorm from the west, and
our three long flights scheduled close together. I think you can
imagine the possibilities without much thought. Our first leg of the
journey (Monday, March 24th at 11:25am), lands in NYC, which is where
the storm is headed after it hits Chicago tonight. If that is
delayed, the connections fall like dominoes (I believe you can
visualize that one,too) and we will be seen running a breakneck speed
with our luggage yelling, "Wait for us!!", as the StepsCristal throws
anchor and leaves the dock (that's the most fun to visualize.)
But, instead of worrying, as I traditionally do, I think I am going
to pray again to our almighty God, and leave the results with Him.
You all can pray, too. "The fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much..." Book of James

1 comment:

  1. You are hilarious. I will picture you running with baggage and funny glasses to the Cristal Yacht. God is teaching you lots of trust things. He is there for you and all of us all the time. Love you and can't wait to see you.
    Karen

    ReplyDelete

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Journey into the Promised Land

Journey into the Promised Land
From Egypt to Israel