Driving in the Air

This is the last of 3 posts. So start below with "Driving".

^{Isaiah 51:3}

The LORD will surely comfort [Sally] Zion
and will look with compassion on all her ruins;
he will make her deserts like Eden,
her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.
Joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

This past month I've been reading and studying Esther and watching this story unfold without the blatant mention of God but knowing He's working behind the scenes. Then this past week while on the plane rides, I read "Same Kind of Different As Me". I loved it and highly recommend it. It's a true story by 2 men and it's an amazing testimony of God's evidence in life's ups and downs and how He gets the glory no matter the twists and turns, but it's not because He's a God who forces us to be His slave or needs the glory at all. He's a compassionate, gentlemanly God who would never leave us alone but would never force us to come to Him and love Him. Jesus was a gift to ransom me out of the pit I was in. I'm thankful now that God didn't leave me, even when I was ungrateful or forgetting Him along my journey.

I've been on a 40-day personal hike with Jesus. It's day 28 and I'm more in love with Him than ever. In the midst of this time, it seems like He's shown me my story in a rearview mirror. It's like He's reminded me of all that He's done for me and in me, as an encouragement to press on (keep driving) in this great life He's given me and driving with me.

In just the past 2 weeks:

• I accidently drove past my elementary school after attending an opera at my college (where I was kinda bitter that they never did those when I was there....oops, off subject!)
• I've been prompted to pray for the pastor's wife at the church I grew up attending.
• I sang in my college alumni choir with Brad, several college friends and my favorite teacher. (Yep! 1st grade and she's still beautiful!)
• I got to be there to stay with her kids when my sister went to the hospital to have her little girl.
• I got to spend time with my dearest high school friend, Betsy in Oregon.

Oregon looked like another country to me. It was beautiful and natural and peaceful. Betsy fits there perfectly. We had a good time sharing the other half of each of our lives that we'd left 18 years ago. She still finds the most amazing beauty in the simplest things and in the most unexpected places. Spending time with her again was all I wanted for a long time and Brad saw my heart and gave me that gift. I can't tell you how it refreshed me. I don't really know why it meant so much except that when you have loved someone for that long and that deeply and the friendship is still strong after years go by, it's because the bond was in Christ to begin with. It's because HE never leaves you, so time is not a factor because time is not a factor in His eyes. It's like getting a hug from Jesus, because He is the one that kept you together for all of those years. I emailed her today that I'm praying that Jesus would build our mansions next to each other so we can be neighbors in Eternity, and I hoped she was okay with that. :)

On the flight home, which was also a gift by a pilot friend in our church for a very discounted price, the lovely flight attendant came to me and said "Mrs. Martin, 6A is open for you." I really thought I'd have to ask her to repeat that, and if you know me, you know that I do that often. I almost laughed out loud and cried at the same time. I got to fly first class. I have never been so spoiled in all my life. I felt like Julia Roberts at the opera. Do you know what first class gets? Well let me just tell you. First you get these big ol' seats with amazing fold out trays that I didn't even know how to work, so I asked the nice man next to me, interrupting his game of Solitaire on his laptop. Then, we got a "snack"!! A big plate of fruit and hunks of cheese, pretzels, nuts and crackers! Oh my gosh, coach peeps were only getting drinks! I almost felt bad, but then I looked out the window and there were mountains everywhere! With snow! And Oh, it was breathtaking and that's when I cried. I stopped and just cried cuz I knew that God was smiling at me through those clouds, saying....I know. I know you. I know you like nice things. And I'm blessing you for being content, or at least trying. But do you see how thankful you are right now? That's because your heart is right and you've done without and that's when the contentment you've been looking for can flow in. That's what I'm doing in you.

And then...you're not going to believe this and I probably shouldn't even tell you so please don't go to the airport and turn up your nose in envy at the first class flyers just because you read this...but...

*whispering*

they brought me a WARM chocolate chip cookie, and I mean it was not just a little puny Pillsbury one either. It was like huge and heavenly and it melted in my mouth and I didn't even care how many calories it was, I just ate it. And it was so good.

And I just sat in that chair in the sky and thanked God for that big, sweet, chocolatey kiss....content and singing "Give me Jesus" all the way home.