Right place, right time?

But God’s Spirit has special powers!

Ezekiel 8:3 The Spirit transported me to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple in Jerusalem …

Acts 8:39-40 When Philip and the eunuch came up out of the water [after Philip baptized the eunuch], the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

Getting from point A to point B in the city of São Paulo, Brazil (22 million people in one metropolis) can be tricky. Once after Dave traveled to another part of Brazil, a pastor friend died. Dave asked me to attend the funeral in his place. The catch: I would have to drive to the (for me) confusing and intimidating eastern zone of the city.

A view of one slice of São Paulo

I dropped our kids off at school and started out. I didn’t have a cell phone or GPS. I had a thick book of maps, each one a small piece of the city. The night before, I had pored over the maps, figuring out which page to go to from the previous page to take me to my destination. As you can imagine, this is much easier to manage with a navigator next to you!

On my way, I nervously watched at one intersection a car being burglarized. (Whenever possible, one doesn’t stop at intersections in São Paulo). A kilometer or so later, a car in flames in the middle of an intersection stopped traffic in all directions. I had to recalculate my carefully charted map plan to accommodate this detour, and then another: a road closure for construction. And then another, this time a three-car accident.

When I finally arrived at the church, the service was over, and mourners had moved to the cemetery. I navigated to the cemetery and found the correct grave site, only to see the last cars departing. I wasn’t able even to greet the pastor’s family to convey our condolences.

I took a deep breath, recalculated my return trip, and set out once again, arriving at our children’s school late enough to cause them anxiety. No cell phone, remember? As they climbed into the car (“Mommy, where were you?”), I sat trembling, so grateful I had made it back safely: no accident, no burglary, no car theft or breakdown, no getting lost—thanks to my trusty book of maps. Just a “wasted” day filled with “Lord, help me! Protect me!” prayers.

So, when I read about the Holy Spirit picking up Ezekiel and transporting him from place to place (eight times! Ezekiel 2:2, 3:12, 3:14, 8:3, 11:1, 11:24, 37:1, 43:5) and recall our long days of travel last week to Bogotá and back, I feel just a bit jealous. Except for the one where the Spirit took Ezekiel by the hair (8:3). And I’m not sure I want my destination to be a valley filled with dry bones (37:1), even in this month of Halloween, the American holiday I have never understood.

The thing is, God showed Ezekiel something important at each of the places he found himself snatched away to. So, I asked, “What did I learn from my apparently worthless trek across São Paulo?” I failed in my mission—to offer solidarity and comfort to the grieving family of a friend. I caused my children considerable anxiety when I didn’t show up at the end of their school day.

I realize now, though, two things: I have deep empathy for those who must drive to work in São Paulo every day, like my son-in-law. Moreover, I recognize that at no moment in that solitary challenge was I alone. The Holy Spirit accompanied, steadied, and guided me and brought me home safely. I see this now as a “dry run” for so many times after that when I had to navigate life alone, especially during the difficult Karis years when each day held enormous challenges.

But no, I wasn’t alone. For the Holy Spirit faithfully shepherded me, through each moment and each place Karis’s journey took us.

Breath of Heaven, Amy Grant

Ashy or solid?

But the Spirit guides us

Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

Sometimes life feels so unpredictable walking forward feels “ashy.”

I internalized that image from an experience I had when I was fourteen. I attended a youth retreat a few hours from my home in Guatemala, designed for MKs (missionary kids) for whom such an experience was rare. What a privilege! I have never forgotten the fun of spending time with other teens, nor the impact of our speaker Ron Blue’s teaching about Romans 12:1-2: Don’t conform to the world …

During the retreat we got to hike a mountain next to Pacaya, an active volcano. It was hard! A recent eruption had buried the trails in several feet of still-warm ash. Have you ever tried to walk through ash? Imagine trying to climb a hill when with every step you try to take you slide backwards or sideways. Just keeping your balance, or getting to your feet again after you fall, feels like the toughest thing you’ve ever tackled. And the ash gets into your clothes, into your mouth and eyes, covers your skin … A “slippery slope” for sure.

Pacaya Volcano: Shutterstock yggdrasill

We didn’t manage to hike far. We finally got around to the side of the mountain not facing Pacaya, where we could sit, gulp water, and gasp over the majesty of a circle of volcanoes, a crystalline blue lake nestled in the valley between them. As we took in the view, our speaker challenged us to give our lives to the Creator of all this beauty, a trustworthy guide.

Our leaders decided we should walk downhill on that side of the mountain, to avoid most of the ash. What a delight and relief to find firm footing! We no longer took it for granted.

All this was still vivid in my mind when a short time later I moved to the U.S. to live with a family I didn’t know in a foreign world where almost nothing was as I expected.

Occasionally another teen would give me hints about how to dress, how to behave, how to talk, how to relate, guiding me to a firmer path through the strange adolescent milieu of an American high school. They probably had little idea how important I found their willingness to share their knowledge. Despite Romans 12:2, there were many ways I needed to conform to this world! Sorting all that out sometimes felt like walking through ash.

Our sibling group is walking through some tough uncharted “ashy” terrain related to health and aging. It’s good to know that we can trust the Holy Spirit to guide us on solid ground.

But the Holy Spirit gives a foretaste of future glory

Romans 8:22-23 All creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

Before we left my sister’s home for the Boise airport, I received an email from the airline saying delays were possible due to thunderstorms in Chicago. My flight was still listed as On Time.

At my gate, the information board had switched to Delayed, from an 8:15 departure to 10:00. Soon an agent announced a further delay to 11:30 and asked us to make our own arrangements for connecting flights. Long lines immediately formed in front of the two agents. I called my airline and heard wait time would be 5–10-minutes.

An hour later, a representative finally responded, breezily telling me I should have no problem with my connecting flight since my Boise flight would depart at 10:00 and my flight out of Chicago was also delayed. I checked the board: indeed, it still said 10:00 a.m. I told him of the announced delay to 11:30. He said, “Well, if you’re worried, there is one seat left on the 6:10 p.m.” Gratefully, I took it. He said, “Stop worrying. We’ll get you home today one way or another.” I wasn’t worrying. I had simply asked what my options were for getting to Pittsburgh. But I imagine he had spent his day speaking with worried travelers.

We left Boise a little after 1:00 and landed at O’Hare in bright sunshine. Puddles here and there bore witness to the earlier storm. But the airport was a madhouse. Social distancing was impossible. I can only imagine the logistic challenges to restore normalcy to air travel in and out of Chicago following this benign and relatively brief weather event.

The information board said “Boarding Closed” re. my original flight. I thanked God for my seat on the 6:10, and for a place to sit at my gate after a flight departed for Houston. Passengers waited at B3 for at least three additional flights, their departures scheduled half an hour apart. The 6:10 flight was delayed three times, and then our gate changed. We all trooped down the concourse to merge with passengers at B8, and finally departed for Pittsburgh at 8:00.

In both airports, I observed that passengers did not connect with each other. Despite sharing a common reality—delayed flights and competition for available electrical outlets for our phones, laptops and iPads—each of us kept to ourselves or spoke on our phones. A primary reason for this (apart from dependence on our devices), I suspect, was the mask each of us wore. A parable.

I had time to reflect on other periods of waiting I’ve experienced, when every minute was torture because the outcome was likely to be bad news, rather than the joy of simply going home. We can be encouraged, Paul says, because we wait for Jesus with eager hope, with a guaranteed glorious outcome. We may—actually, we do—experience tough things along the way. But our final Homegoing will be spectacular, the fulfillment of our lifetime of longings. Definitely worth the wait!