As I sat on an airliner looking at the lights of a city disappearing into darkness, tears welled up and I started to cry. I loved living in that city. I had a lot of wonderful friends. But now I was moving to another city that I did not like, starting a new job, and moving into a new neighborhood. Somewhere below me a moving van was traveling the same direction as I, delivering all my earthly possessions to the new location.
I felt all alone. I began to have a real self pity party right next to the window of the airplane. I could not hold back the tears. I questioned God’s will in this and could not understand the chain of events that brought me to this place.
Between sobs, I heard the voice of a child ask, “Lady, are you sad?” Not wanting to be rude but also not wanting to talk to her, I just nodded a yes and continued looking out the window. “Lady, please don’t cry,” I heard.
I took a deep breath and told her, “It’s okay,” and again looked out the window. I continued to cry, feeling really sorry for myself.
Soon, the plane started it’s decent. “Have you ever been to this city?” came the small voice.
“Oh, yes.” I replied.
She added excitedly, “Do you like it? I hear that it’s beautiful and there are lots of wonderful things to do here. I can’t wait!”
I sighed not wanting to tell her my true feelings. At this point, her mother intervened and said, “I hope that my daughter hasn’t bothered you. She is so excited about our new life here. This is her first time in the US. We have just been evacuated from the last boats out of Vietnam. We had to leave all of our friends behind, and we do not know their fate. We lost everything and are here with just what you see, but God is good! He has brought us to this new home. A pastor is meeting us at the airport to help get us settled.”
She finished by saying, “We can hardly wait to see what He has in store for us here!”
All I could say was “Oh, my.” I turned back to the window, looked out and whispered, “Dear Lord, I hear You . . . I really HEAR You.”
Wow, what an attitude adjustment I experienced that night. The Lord certainly knows how to break up a self pity party. Sometimes, God puts others in our path to give us a wake up call. This was a life changing one for me. Through this experience, I learned the true meaning of being joyful in all circumstances.
Memory Verse:
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
– I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Prayer Prompt:
Dear Lord, I thank You for the many ways You speak to me and for putting people in my path to help bring Your message home to me. I pray that I can find joy in all things and all circumstances, including…”
Contributing Writer:
Cheryl G.
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