Divine Appointments

 

The initial principle of the study series, “Experiencing God “  is:  God is at work in the world around you.  The second is, God is inviting you to join Him.   As a former pastor and now a current chaplain for a hospice agency, I frequently find myself praying, “God what is it you want me to do?  Where are you at work that I might be used by you?”  Now some people might not feel comfortable praying that prayer in a strange environment, but I have had enough experiences to know that God will provide what is needed for the moment so just plunge in and pray and be vigilant.

This evening I was on a connecting flight to Chicago so I could connect to a flight to Hartford.  (I know,  but it’s cheaper that way)    I sat in a window seat for a change and thought “Oh please nobody sit in the middle.”  Of course CLE to CHI is never light so a woman in her late 40’s sat down next to me.   All through taxiing down to take off and until they brought the beverages around, no one in our 3 seats was speaking.    Finally I broke the ice after the fight attendant handed me my drink all ready to spill in her lap.  I gave a sigh of relief when I took the napkin off the top and saw how full it was.  She and I were both amazed how full it was and I didn’t have a mishap.

So then I asked where she was from.  She was from NYC and, like me, was on her way to CHI to catch a connecting flight to home: NYC.   After a few moments I asked her, “Were you living in NY when the towers came down 11 years ago?”  At that time she was living in GA but she had a sister who worked in an adjacent building. 

Her sister witnessed everything from several stories up looking out picture windows.  She had a full view when the second plane hit.  Her brother normally worked in Tower II but was running late.  He came up from the subway after the first plane hit.  Someone quickly directed him to safety and he ended up helping injured people off the street.  Debris was falling; people were falling.   She said very few realize there were more lives lost outside the towers than in the towers. To this day her brother is okay, but her sister suffer from what they call 9/11 PTSD.

We shifted the conversation to the city life vs. country.   Her preference is still in the city despite the things that can happen.  I told her I was a country bumpkin and could not understand why  oldest son raised in the country could fall in love with the big city.  (Most likely cause the wonderful woman he married loves it too).  Then we segued to the moment of clarity for me.  “My dad lives in the country down in SC.  He’s been a farmer all his life.  We just found last month that he’s got cancer.  He starts radiation treatment next week.”  

I responded with, “Let me guess. If he’s 80  as you  said,  and has worked all his life as a farmer,  he probably worked until the pain became unbearable and then got tested only to find out the cancer was pretty far advanced.”  She looked at me with a somewhat suspicion with that “how did you know?” look.  I asked if he had a living will and had talked yet about his health care wishes.  She replied that her sister who lives closer to her was handling those details. She went on to say that he has a large mass near the size of a softball in his stomach.  He does not want any surgery.   He can eat very little.  “So what do you know about hospice?” I asked.  Again the look of “how did you know”.  “Nothing, but they already talked to us about getting him into hospice in the hospital.”  At that point I tipped my hand and told her I was a hospice chaplain.

 For the rest of the flight I shared a lot of information with her to help clear up quite a few misconceptions.  We continued to talk right through landing, taxiing and waiting to disembark.  As we parted ways she said, “I guess there was a reason I was supposed to sit next to you on this flight.”  “I have no doubt.”  I replied.

“For such a time as this” I had a divine appointment to be there to prepare someone for the months that lay ahead.  It wasn’t a particularly spiritual conversation but I believe that God put me there for a reason to be a blessing to someone facing change and transition in her life.  I am confident that God is working in her life and there will be more just in time encounters for her in the future. 

Divine appointments: they are the little things in life that prove what a mighty God we serve.