Ashley and I traveled this weekend for two different events. We are learning our “capacity” for travel and speaking events, so it’s been fun to talk about. We spoke in Harrisburg for pastors on Thursday and Friday, and then we hopped on a plane to Atlanta to speak for parents on having better conversations in the home. On that same day, we flew back home to Harrisburg and then drove the two hours to State College. I would have never been able to do this even a few years ago. Remember all my blogs about travel anxiety and how much I’d have to trust God moment by moment? I never felt victorious or flourishing in those moments. I dreaded it.
But the verse I clung to in the past few years has been Psalm 32:8: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Isn’t that wonderful? I asked God to instruct me and teach me how to live out His calling on my life in a way that manifested His peace and goodness. It took a while. It didn’t happen over night. But it did happen.
I enjoyed being with God and Ash. I enjoyed the flights, the hotels, the events. I savored everything. I learned how God made me and what delights me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I even learned that when you arrive somewhere after midnight, your body will find ways to rest later. God instructed me to surrender, to trust, and to look for His care.
I remember God always makes a way for His people to experience His love and provision. But you have to look. You have to look with the eyes of faith. It’s like putting on tinted glasses where the whole world turns a different color.
Finally, you get to live a “sent life.” I decided to learn to be helpful wherever I was. Last night, I noticed a woman struggling with her heavy suitcase, and I tugged on Ash’s sleeve so he could assist her. He helped her lift this massively heavy carry-on suitcase up into the overhead compartment. This, of course, led to a great conversation about what was in that suitcase. It was all her favorite southern foods from Georgia that she couldn’t find in Philadelphia. We laughed and talked about her life, and she leaned over to me and said, “I never travel alone. I didn’t know how I would do this.” I assured her we would be there to help with her suitcase on her journey. It’s a simple thing, but maybe Ash was an answer to her simple prayer that God seat her next to someone who could help her.
Sent people live helpful lives. And when you travel, you can look around and be that source of help, sent right from God. And then you savor that moment.