This past weekend, Paula and I flew to Dallas to celebrate my 50th high school reunion. We had a great time and Paula fit in perfectly with those who were there (about 150). The one thing that we all said about the group gathered at the Embassy Suites near Love Field airport was that there sure were a lot of old people in the group, that is except for Paula who was the youngest one there. This always brought a good laugh ...
On Monday evening, we boarded our flight back to Denver and, as ususal, we sat with one seat between us so that, just maybe, we would sit by ourselves. Kinda selfish, huh? Lotsa folks walked past us and we were beginning to feel good about our seats when one woman asked if that middle seat was taken. I said that I would move over and she could have the aisle seat. She took it and apologized cause she knew what we were up to. But, she sat down anyhow.
I felt kinda sheepish by this point, and the Holy Spirit began to convict me of my attitude. Diane, whom we quickly met, said that maybe it was just what she needed ... to sit down next to us. She immediately opened up about her "trauma!" Diane's 21 year old daughter, Michelle, who is a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder, had been rappelling down a rock face when she broke an ankle and tore some ligaments. Diane obviously was concerned about her and she was flying from Dallas to do what mothers do, make the pain go away. She wanted our advice about how to handle this, so we talked at length with her. Paula shared about how her ankle had been broken and tendons damaged years ago and that she still has problems with it. Our advice was that she needed to carefully convince Michelle that she definitely needs to have a really good orthopedic surgeon take care of her so that she won't suffer in the long run.
Diane was very thankful as we shared life experiences with her and she commented that she just knew that sitting with us was what she needed. Little did she understand that this was a God designed moment. I told her that we would be praying for both her and Michelle.
I had been praying and continued praying as I reached for Anne Graham Lotz' new book, Expecting to see Jesus. Our plane made a stop in Amarillo and many of the passengers got off leaving extra seats. Diane said that she was going to move and give us all more room and at that I knew that the time was right. I said, "May I pray for you and Michelle right now?" ... to which she was quick to say, "Yes!" She reached over and took my hand and I began to pray. Then, I asked her who Jesus was to her. She responded with something like, "a stong spiritual power." I had sensed all along that Diane was not a follower of Jesus and now I knew this for sure.
Knowing that I had just a few moments left with her, I quickly presented her with who Jesus really is ... God who came in human form to die on a cross to pay the price for our sins. Then, I told her what Jesus Himself said about getting to heaven, "No one comes to the Father but through Me." All you need to do is believe and ask Him to come into your life to save you.
At this she thanked me and got up to move across the aisle. When we got to Denver, she thanked us both again and we again said that we would be praying for a good outcome for Michelle.
I know that the Holy Spirit is the one who takes our words, feeble though they may be, and enlivens them in peoples' hearts. He is the one who convicts of sin. And, when someone confesses his/her sin and believes in Jesus, it is the Spirit who seals them forever into the family of God. I felt so inadequate but I continue to pray that Diane will recognize her fate outside of Christ and that she would come to faith in Him as her Lord and Savior. She is one for whom Jesus died. He desires to save her from a sinner's hell, but the choice is her's.
I trust that you too know who Jesus is and that you have given your life to Him. In Paul's letter to the Romans, he wrote, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) John quoted Jesus who said, "Here I am! I am standing at the door and knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 4:20). He died for you and loves you so much that He is pleading for you to believe. Will you?
I am praying that God will use these words to touch your life and that you too will join us in following Jesus, all the way to eternity.
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