Southern Adventure

First of all, thank you, thank you, to each of you who prayed for the Mother's Day Brunch this morning.
It was absolutely wonderful.
I stood on the platform and moved my mouth, but God was the one speaking to the hearts of women. And from the feedback I have received, I am confident He was speaking clearly and tenderly. What a tremendous blessing to be His instrument!
I was particularly encouraged by the comments from women that the message was just what they needed to hear. Quite honestly, there was a time when I was a bit uncertain about its appropriateness for a Mother's Day Brunch. I thought maybe the women would be expecting something having more to do with motherhood, how important mothers are, how much we need to esteem motherhood, you get the picture.
But some time ago I read Mark 6 and was so encouraged that - though I often do not feel like I am enough of a mom - in Jesus' hands, I become enough. That message has been growing in my heart and I was eager to share it. This morning as I talked with these women about the Truth that their impossible situation is possible with Jesus, He was speaking to their hearts. He has convinced me this was, indeed, the talk I was supposed to give today.

After the brunch I went back to my hostess's house and spent the remainder of the afternoon visiting with her and her precious daughters. I so enjoyed being with them, but soon the time came for them to take me to the airport. So we all hopped into the van and were on our way. Everything was going fine, until...
We got a flat tire.
On the interstate.
Half an hour before I needed to be at the airport.
My hostess called and found someone who could come and take me the rest of the way to the airport. Then they called AAA to come get them!
And that was all fine. We knew God could handle this impossible situation. So we just waited for our rescuers and I wasn't even going to blog about the adventure, except that it gets better!

Upon arriving at the airport and waiting in line to check my bags, I was told I had missed the cut-off time to check my bags and I would have to reschedule my flight.
And there were no more flights going to Detroit today, so I would have to find a hotel in Tampa tonight.
I walked away from the counter to try to gather my thoughts. For a minute I just stood and wondered, What do I do? But then I realized I really had no choice, so I got back in line at the ticket counter and made arrangements to fly out tomorrow morning. The nicer of the two ticket agents even helped me find a hotel.
As I sat outside the airport, waiting for the shuttle to the hotel, I was praying. Lord, I am just sure You're in this situation. I don't see it now, but I'm choosing to trust You. And I was looking for His signature. Just before my shuttle to the hotel arrived for me, another shuttle bus drove by with the company's phone number painted on the side. I don't remember the first few digits, but the last four were 1111.
And tonight after I checked into my room and called my family to tell them about my change in plans, I went down to get something to eat. On my way back to my room either the two elevators on the left were sitting on the same floor, or God was just reminding me He's in this situation. When I looked up at the lights above the doors, there it was again. 11 11. I am not kidding you!
I stepped into the elevator and laughed the entire way to my room. God, you are in every single detail, aren't You! Though I was feeling very alone through this ordeal, God reminded me I am never without Him.
And I am sincerely looking forward to my trip home tomorrow. I don't know what He has in mind, why He chose to delay my trip home. But I am confident of this: God is good, and everything He does is good. On the way down here yesterday I had a wonderful conversation with a fellow passenger. I cannot help but wonder if God has someone in mind for me to talk to tomorrow. Someone I would have missed if I'd flown home today...
I'll be in airports and on airplanes from 6:00-11:30 tomorrow morning. If you read this post in time, please pray for me. I want to be sensitive to His leading - an instrument of His grace.