Was on the way to Dallas recently – headed home after a ministry trip in another state. We’d had a good time and it seemed like our investment had been beneficial to those who had attended the conference. We sure hoped so.
We were grateful for the opportunity and joyfully exhausted. Ready to come home – sleep in our own beds, use our own shower, walk around in our bathrobes, refresh – you get the idea.
So, when the pilot’s voice came over the loud speaker of the plane, I was immediately concerned. We were 1 hour and 45 minutes into a flight that was only supposed to last two hours but the pilot wasn’t telling us to prepare for landing in Dallas. Instead, he explained that weather in our destination wasn’t good and that we were being diverted to Austin.
Sigh.
Now, I like Austin. It’s actually one of my favorite places to visit . . . but not tonight. I wanted to go home.
Instead, we were detoured. We sat on the runway and waited for weather to clear at home. I looked out of the window of row 12B and watched other aircraft in our same dilemma. I was frustrated. Felt like a waste of precious time to me. And just when my thoughts were about to head straight for emotional dumps . . . I saw them. Dozens of fuel trucks hooking themselves up to these planes and giving them the extra gas that they’d need to finish their journey successfully. These planes were all headed somewhere different – somewhere unique to their passengers – but they all needed the same thing . . . fuel.
The detour may have been an inconvenience. May have seemed like a waste and pointless diversion in my plan to get home quickly to my destination. But something good – something beneficial – was happening here in this unexpected place. Good things . . . necessary things were being added that would help me get where I wanted and needed to go.
Not such a waste after all.
Been diverted from your plan lately? Your schedule for the day (or for the year) been interrupted? Listen to me, this season is not a waste. This place – this runway where you are sitting – is where God will bring the fuel you need to get you to where you want and need to be. There will be relationships that develop here, character that matures here, growth that occurs here. Spiritual fuel. He will impart to you here that will be required if you are ever to get there.
So relax. Rest. Trust.
. . . and receive.
You are fiercely loved,
Priscilla
