This weekend, I took a trip to see a dear friend of mine. On the first leg of my return flight, I found myself in the aisle seat of a row with two other women. As I took my place, the other two were engaging each other in conversation.
“Where are you headed?” “Where have you been?”…you know, the usual ice breaker fare. As it turns out, they both had been to the same conference for the weekend. Although I couldn’t get all the details (and for the record, I am fully aware of the rudeness of eavesdropping, however, in my defense, they both were “loud talkers” so I couldn’t help but overhear them), I heard words being thrown around like “right brain vs. left brain”, “live in the moment”, “meditation” and so on. I came to the conclusion that the conference was some sort of a self-help, inner consciousness kind of scene…not my cup of tea, but they seemed to be on the same page. I took out my book to begin reading, and stop eavesdropping, when the younger of the two made a statement that caused me to stop reading mid sentence. She said, “I USED to be a Christian. Then I was a Christian Mystic. Now I’m just not sure what I am.” Say what????
Over the course of our hour and a half flight, I learned that she was a drug addict that found the Lord and He delivered her from her addiction. She actually said, “Christianity saved my life!” She used to read her bible every night with her husband of only 7 months, go to church at least 3 times a week, witness to her friends…she was a young, Godly woman, living a Godly life. Now…she doesn’t know what she believes? How does this happen??
The woman sitting between us was quite a bit older. Married for 36 years, two children…also a Christian. I sat and listened to her share her story and belief system with the younger one. They seemed to have a lot in common. The older of them, although a professed follower of Jesus, has been dabbling in drum circles as of late. Now, I don’t know a thing about that stuff, so who am I to judge? As long as it doesn’t interfere with her relationship with Christ, I guess He’d say, “drum until your heart’s content, my child”! That, coupled with the talk of left/right brain, living in the moment, and the fact that Jesus IS the one and only risen savior, they fell into a conversation that literally didn’t end, even as I was leaving the plane.
As I sat there and listened to the younger one talk of her past faith, not being a Christian anymore, just not knowing WHAT she can believe, needing to find the truth and reasoning behind everything (my thoughts being, “what difference does it make WHY the flowers bloom? Just be grateful they do, and move on!”), I found myself wanting to say something. I wanted to interject my thoughts and feelings on the subject. I had questions I wanted to ask her. I don’t understand how you can go from being a sold out Christian, to questioning every thing you knew about God, Jesus and Faith. I wanted to tell her that the emptiness she felt at that very moment, was where God had been and longed to be again. I wanted to ask her if she was really willing to take the chance that Hell really doesn’t exist? Because I’m certainly not! I wanted to remind her that the fact that she was sitting beside that lady, on that flight, was no coincidence, but divine intervention. I wanted to hug her and tell her that God will never leave her and He is waiting for her to come back in fellowship with Him, because she will never find the truth she seeks anywhere but within Christ. I wanted to shake her and tell her she has ALL the answers she needed, and that she is throwing it all away!! I wanted to tell her that my heart was breaking for her and that I was praying for her even at that very moment. I wanted to say something that would change her heart back to Christ. So many things I wanted to say, and yet I sat silently. Silently listening. Silently grieving for her troubles, confusion and heartache. Silently fighting the anger at myself that I was not smart enough, brave enough, or well versed in the bible, to speak up, as I wanted to. I sat there in silence. And, as silent as my lips, so also were the tears that streamed down my face, as they are streaming at this moment.
By the end of the flight, the older of the two said many things I had been thinking. She asked some of the questions I wanted to ask. It made me feel better. I know that God put THOSE two together for a purpose. I’m not sure I would have handled it as well as the one God entrusted that young lady to for that hour and a half…He sure knows what He’s doing! I hope that that older lady knows that she did the work of the Lord on that flight. I also hope that the young lady feels prayed for and that she will open her heart to Christ again.
The question that keeps nagging at me is this:
How do you lose your faith completely??
That is a concept that is foreign to me. I know I can’t see God, but I know He is there. I can’t see oxygen, but I trust that it will fill my lungs every time I take a breath. Isn’t that the very essence of faith? Believing in things that you can not see.
My faith in Christ is unwavering, and solid…I can’t imagine putting my trust in meditation or chakras. I want to be on the team with the guy that was raised from the dead! Don’t you??
Keep the faith? Don’t mind if I do…
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