“We have booked you on an earlier flight in light of the weather possibilities this afternoon.” What?
I had left the office with plenty of time to spare. At the last minute, feeling some urgency about the time, I decided to park at the airport itself. It would save time coming home, I thought. When I arrived at the ticketing counter, the lady looked at me and said, “We have booked you on an earlier flight in light of the weather possibilities this afternoon.” or something like that. it was exactly 1:03pm. the flight was at 1:45pm. Gulp! Getting through security at the local airport and to the gate before the 10 minute “close the door” seemed impossible. So much so, that I said to the agent, “I’ll never get there in time.” Three times. She graciously said, “You seem a bit nervous about the time. Follow me.”
She led me to a security line with no wait. ha! I was through in no time at all. My anxiety unfounded. Happily, I got to the gate with time to pick up some lunch. Got on the plane, took my seat, and waited. “How unusual,” I thought, “to be put on an earlier flight….to have gotten to the airport in time to do it….hmmm.”
Just before the door closed, a woman and her family came through. She took the seat next to me. “Headed out, or home?” I asked her. She turned to me with tears in her eyes, “Home. My mum died last night. We barely made this flight, but it’s the one that will get us back to England the quickest.” In that moment, I knew it was no accident that I was on that plane.
God had re-arranged my day, because He had someone who needed comfort. Neither she nor I were previously scheduled to be there. She was open to talk and had such a wonderful relationship with her own mom. She also knew the peace of God and had certainty about her own salvation as well as her mom’s.
The incident got me thinking. Acts 17:26b says, “He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” It’s no accident that we are alive now, living where we are living. He has placed us where He wants us, in order to display His greatness to the people around us.
It’s our time. Now. Not later. Not tomorrow. We have no guarantee of tomorrow. We can only take advantage of the time that we have today to be so full of the light of Jesus that He shines to those around us.
How do you keep your awareness of this fact fresh on your mind?
AB Reflections 
Beautiful!
I agree with your philosophy. We have to live for today and appreciate the moments. Nice post.
Rich
thanks, Rich. easy to miss those opportunities if I’m just focused on my own agenda…
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I am so glad God placed you on that flight to encourage another person! Thank you for the reminder that God has determined our exact times and places.
Thanks for posting this, Andrea. What is interesting to me is that God (in His Sovereignty) would have found someone to comfort her, if you had not been willing, or not been open to it, etc. But you were open to it, and therefore you had the privilege of being part of His plan in that woman’s life. How cool.
exactly! it’s made me pay more attention to what God might have in store via the interruptions and diversions in my day.
Thanks for taking the time to write up this cool story of God working through everyday things like airline scheduling systems. I was really encouraged by your post.