If God had really intended men to fly, He’d make it easier to get to the airport – George Winters
Since marrying my husband three years ago, I’ve had the privilege to travel more often than ever before. I believe the military lifestyle often attracts travelers. Leave holidays, PCS moves, TDY visits – we’ve done it all. And, for the most part, it’s been great.
But it’s not all a bed of roses. For me, military life often feels as if we’re in-between, with consistency and routine a distant memory. No matter where we live, there’s a constant ebb and flow of transitions, big and small. There’s always a TDY or training waiting to throw a wrench in our already fragile routine.
As a type-A planner, and an Enneagram 6, I’m learning that transitions and the unknown can often send me spiraling into a cloud of anxiety. This is true even of fun transitions and unknowns, like traveling to a new place on vacation. A few months ago, my friend Vicki and I traveled to Cambodia. She was going for work and I was, shall we say, a fun bonus!
In the weeks leading up to the trip, but especially a few days before, I found myself in a near-constant state of anxiety. My mind was a cloud of “what if’s”. Sometimes the questions hovered in the distance, on the fringes. Sometimes I was lost in it.
I worried about everything: What should I pack? How do I get around safely? What food should I eat so I don’t get sick? And if I do get sick – what then? What if Vicki and I don’t travel well together? How can I spend time writing every day? How can I make this trip meaningful?
It’s hard to see God in the swirl of questions. Instead, I try to control as much as I can. Make a packing list so I don’t miss anything. Research the country before leaving and find out what other travelers say about safety. Don’t eat food that isn’t cooked or peel-able. Pack medicines to help keep sickness at bay.
Surprisingly, one thing I don’t usually worry about is travel delays. In my adulthood, and especially when traveling alone, I seem to have acquired a knack for attracting delays. It’s not every trip, but 1 in 4 adventures has a delay or cancellation mixed in somewhere. For whatever reason, most of the time, this does not set off my anxiety. Especially if I’m already in transit. After all, I’m at the mercy of the airlines – what can be done?
Apparently, I neglected to tell Vicki about my delay juju. So, of course, for our journey to Cambodia, we had quite the delay adventure. Sorry, not sorry. But even in the delay, it was apparent that God was laying out our path. I’ll save you the whole long-winded story, and just share the part where this was most clear.
Airport delays abound…
Our delay started before we even left Japan. Before we leave Tokyo, after 5 hours of weather delays, we already know we’ve missed our connection in Ho Chi Minh. The stewardess at the gate let us know there was one more flight that night from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh. We wanted to be on it, but we weren’t sure how to make that happen. And it was going to be close. At one point, we had as little as 5 minutes to deplane and re-board somewhere else. In the end, I think there were 15-20 minutes in between flights.
After talking to the flight attendants on the plane, we move to stand and exit with the first-class passengers. We’re not near a terminal, meaning we’ll have to board a bus. When economy cabin passengers start leaving before us, any hope we had of making our next flight began slipping away. Did we hear the flight attendant correctly? Are we supposed to be here? Is this really the fastest way?
Eventually, the first-class cabin starts moving. Because we’re at the back, we’re the last ones off the plane, but the first ones off the bus. Apparently, the first-class bus goes first. So, in the end, it didn’t really matter that people were getting off before us. Just goes to show you looks can be deceiving.
We de-bus first and take the stairs two at a time, neither of us sure where to go. There’s very little signage, but we move forward anyway, trusting that we’ll see where to go. Then, like magic, a few steps ahead of us, a piece of paper appears on a board in the aisle. As we approach, we can see our names. An attendant next to the board motions us to a ticket counter, where another employee has already printed our new boarding passes. She just needs to verify our information.
We are guided through a side security area and reemerge in a terminal in between shops. We’re walking quickly, almost running but we don’t want to leave behind our airlines escort. We catch an elevator, held by another staff member and run the rest of the way. Unbelievably, our passports are scanned at the gate at 6:38 pm – a full two minutes before take-off. We hop into the van and ride to the plane waiting for us on the tarmac. (Fun aside – we passed it on our last bus ride not 15 minutes ago). We board, relieved to have made it, sweat running down our faces.
…But God
Everything lined up too perfectly to be a coincidence. As I reflected on the experience, I kept returning to scenes in The Handmaid’s Tale. Remember those first few episodes of season 2? June, aka Offred, is hanging out in the manufacturing warehouse, waiting. She’s told that someone will come and get her and take her to the next place. But she doesn’t know when, who it will be, or where they’re going. And when the person comes, she has to go. As she’s left by one person, another appears, seemingly from nowhere, to move her further down the path. And she trusts them. She goes. It was like that for us.
Just like June, we didn’t really know where we were headed. But each time, someone appears to point us in the right direction, no explanation necessary. Even more so, each staff member walked with us down the path. They didn’t point and instruct, they walked beside and showed (well, except that poor one that couldn’t run fast enough in her heels and told us to go on ahead).
God operates the same way. He walks with us and is gracious enough to give us people that are walking the same direction as us. He doesn’t just point the way and say “Go there. Don’t get lost. I can’t help you if you get lost.” Just like Vicki running through that airport with me, and the Vietnam Air staff guiding us to our next location, so God is there. In that moment and all the moments before and after.
It’s funny how we can see God moving in all kinds of places if we really take the time to look. Christian believer or not, there are plenty of times where things line up just right, each step affecting the next without any movement on our part at all. Our flight to Phnom Penh, although a bit stressful and uncertain, clearly showed the hand of God working around us and orchestrating things for us. God shows up, sometimes where we least expect it. Even at the airport.
How has God been showing up for you lately? Do you have a travel-related “God sighting”?
That was a fun read, Maggie!