But it's fascinating to see what God does with our lives the more we devote ourselves to following Jesus more intently. My brain might be full, but God's just starting to engage what He's give me.
As I arrived at my gate today and pulled out my phone to check messages, a man with a heavy German accent asked if I had internet access. He desperately needed to know his connecting flight information for Frankfurt, as his layover was very brief in Chicago. "The clerk at the desk said she could not help me," he explained. We both questioned why the clerk couldn't help while I pulled out my computer and set him up. Within seconds, we had found what he needed. Deter (his name) was grateful and confided in me as he explained why he was in the States that he was lonely and feeling disappointed with his retired life. We talked for a while about life, and as he departed, he at least left with a smile as he waved back to me.
Shortly after my first new friend left, another man rushed toward the same gate, furiously shoving the contents from one back into another already-stuffed bag, which he then forcefully shoved into the carry-on dimension bin that states each bag must fit within its space to qualify for boarding. I admit I initially grumbled. We as humans are like that: we are so attached to our material possessions we are thrown into utter disorientation when we have to choose between taking and leaving our things.
But then I noticed his sweat. It rolled off his bald head and dripped from his nose. This man had clearly been rushing and was desperate to make his flight. He ripped his bloated bag out of the dimension bin and wobbled over to check his boarding pass. The same clerk who refused the earlier gentleman refused this traveler the option to carry his third, now empty bag onto the plane. "It's a third bag sir. You cannot travel with it. The limit is two. You should have checked it in as baggage," she said. "But it's empty," the man pleaded as sweat flew from his lips. "Please help me. Is it okay?" The first clerk and another who had come to assist her continued to refuse the man's plea. "You'll have to throw the bag away," they mandated.
I had seen enough. Although the clerks see this all the time and probably feel as though they simply cannot give into these pleas, I was coming from a different perspective.
"Sir, can I help you?" the first clerk asked. I told the clerks and the frantic traveler I simply wanted to get an address from the travel so that I could take his bag and mail it to him. The clerks were dumbfounded and the man offered me money. I refused the money and guided him to write his information on a book I was finishing up. He's from Russia, but he left me an address for his daughter in the US and some drops of sweat.
I'm now waiting for my own flight, and I'm humbled by what God decided to do with my life just now. I got used. It feels good; I feel closer to God. I wish He would use me like that ALL the time. But what I know is that God doesn't want us just
to wait for Him to use us all the time. God wants us to take the first steps and reach out to others without waiting for a queue.
I'm excited for my next opportunity to put myself out there to be used!
More to come!
Jason <><
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