Walking in the Spirit

After I left our meeting, I headed to the airport. Throughout that evening I felt as though I was truly walking in the Spirit. I had a number of encounters with people, with whom I shared the light of Christ.

#1) I crossed paths with one of the members of our group several times before we went through security. I was glad he waited for me on the other side of the security booth. We both had some time before our flights, so we decided to grab some dinner together.

His was one of the perspectives in our meeting which tended to see many of the negative aspects of the group. I felt there was a reason God brought us together for this time... so that I could share my positive "rose-colored-glass" perspective with him.

We ended up having to wait 20 min for a table, and then enjoyed a casual relaxed dinner... and spent a total of probably an hour and a half together. When we first began talking, I heard nothing but negativity and felt lots of tension in him.

Throughout our time together we shared personal stories and testimonies of ways in which God is working in our individual lives, and by the end of our time together, his demeanor was completely different... I saw the light of Christ shining in his eyes!

I believe we were both refreshed and renewed by our time together.
It only gets better from here...

#2) After hugging him goodbye, I went over to my gate. I sat next to another member of our group, who happened to be on our same flight, and on my left were 2 complete strangers. When the member sitting to my right (who I knew well), left to go to the restroom, I looked over into the eyes of the two men on my left and gave them a big smile and said "Hi! How are you?"

The smiles that these men responded with undoubtedly showed me they were grateful for the friendly hello. I found out they did not know each other, and we chatted briefly. One of them was headed back home from a business trip, and the other was headed to visit his sister and deal with estate issues after a recent death in the family. I shared with them that I work for the church, to which the latter of the two responded "That's great! Spread the Word!"

He was an older man, somewhat heavy, his hair balding on top, and with a long pony tail down his back. He did not look the type of person I would normally associate with or talk to... but what a wonderful conversation we ended up having! He clearly had a strong faith, and knew many Bible verses, but he had not been involved in a local church in recent years. I could see and hear in his voice that our conversation stirred his spirit, and he talked about wanting to get back into a church. I am praying for him that he finds the right one!

#3) On the airplane, I spoke with the man seated next to me. He was a middle-aged white man, who had also been traveling on business and was headed back home. He seemed somewhat timid and reserved, but we had a pleasant conversation. I found out he attends a Catholic church. We shared some stories regarding parenting and the struggles/ worries involved, and we both expressed our personal feelings and beliefs that God provides the strength we need to get through these parenting struggles.

At one point, he shared with me that his son, now 22 yrs old, had suffered from sleep apnea. He now uses a c-pap machine (or however you spell that?), and the result is an amazing difference in his energy level! There it is... a message from God, sent through another member of the Body of Christ...

You see, I have reason to believe that hubby suffers from sleep apnea. We recently spoke with a doctor about it, and even scheduled a sleep study. However, we ended up cancelling it because of the expense (not to mention the fact that hubby really did NOT want to do it... out of his comfort zone). Sounds like we need to move forward with it afterall.

#4) Earlier in the evening, when I was at dinner, I saw a man who is a member of my church back home. He had been traveling on business, and was waiting to get on the same flight I was on to get back home. Coincidence??? I think not. I think God had a plan for bringing us together too, as he did with the others I've already mentioned...

I had asked my mom to pick me up from the airport and take me home that night, but now it suddently occurred to me that this fellow church member would already be at the airport and would probably be willing to drop me off at my house! Sure enough, when I asked him, he said he'd be glad to help.

Again, he is a person who I've felt some pretty negative, not-so-hopeful vibes from. I was especially energized, and when I got in the car with him, I exclaimed "I'm on fire for God!" I shared a few things with him that I had learned in our meeting, things our church is doing to further God's kingdom here on earth. I don't really know what our conversation did for his perspective, but I know I did my part. I planted a seed... it's God's job to water it and help it grow.

#5) To get to my fellow church member's car, we rode in a bus. The bus was pretty full, so I held on to a bar and prepared to stand for the ride. Immediately, a hispanic gentlemen stood up and offered his seat to me. I thanked him and sat down next to another hispanic man.

I smiled and asked the man sitting next to me how he was doing. He said he was doing great, and his smile was great! We chatted a little, but nothing deep, and at one point he pulled out a book he was reading... something about Latino Ministry... so I asked him what he did for a living, and he told me he works for the church (actually, for one of the conferences within the same denomination as me!) How cool is that?!? Turns out he actually knows my boss and some of the folks I work with...

All of his happened in just ONE NIGHT.... It blows my mind to think about it.... It is truly AMAZING how God can work through each of us and connect us to each other, if we will just open up and let him... if we will just let go of our fears, and allow ourselves to open up to the stranger sitting next to us!

If we will walk in the Spirit, instead of in the flesh....