A life lived close to Me will never be dull or predictable.
Expect each day to contain surprises!
Resist your tendency to search for the easiest route
throughout the day. Be willing to follow wherever I lead.

– Jesus Calling, January 13

As I slid my bag onto seat 28E, I uttered, “Lord, just get me there!” I made small talk with the stranger beside me and felt the familiar nervous flutters in my stomach that come whenever I travel. Several hours later and 30,000 feet above the Midwestern plains, I let out a relieved chuckle as I crunched stale airline pretzels and sipped bubbly ginger ale.

An hour later we landed in Denver. As we taxied to the gate, I turned my phone back on and received the text no traveler wants to get: my connecting flight was canceled. I was to collect my checked bags and proceed to the nearest ticket counter.

My 13-hour travel day was about to get a little longer.

Unexpected detour

Soon I discovered my luggage was lost. When I entered the baggage office empty handed and full of frustration, a mother and her adolescent son were in line in front of me. Her son was communicating through a variety of motions. He was smiling at me and motioning, so I asked his mother if she could help me understand.

This precious one noticed how sad I looked and wanted to know if he could show me something that would make me smile. I nodded yes and we fist-bumped. Then he unpacked a set of plastic cups and started to stack, collapse, and restack them in different configurations at lightening speed.

I have never seen anything like it.

While his ability to stack cups was amazing, his laughter and facial expression held my gaze and melted my frustrations. His joy was contagious! I found myself giggling with him instead of griping that I had no luggage and no way to make it to the ministry event where I was speaking the next morning. After he was done with the cups, we fist-bumped again and he opened his arms wide.

I knew what this motion meant.

Comforting Care

Hugs are a love language of mine, so I embraced the expert cup stacker and fought back a tidal wave of tears. His mom shared that her life hadn’t turned out the way she thought it would because of her son’s disability. I promised to pray for her, and she promised to pray for me to make it into Phoenix in time to speak.

Then out of the office they walked, completing the call Jesus designed for them to have in my life. I do, however, have a sneaking suspicion I will see them again in heaven.

I never did make it out of Denver that night, but I found my luggage and a flight the next morning. I do not recall any of the words I said at the women’s event. But I will always remember Jesus comforting me via a set of plastic cups and through the embrace of the one who handled them.

God’s redesign

All of us will be delayed or inconvenienced by something or someone. Maybe life has turned out differently than you thought it would. That’s true for me too! Not only did God redesign my flight that day, He’s redesigned my life too.

Remember that even though you may feel lost, or that things are collapsing, Jesus is right there beside you, stacking things back up for your good and ready to embrace you. He is always moving to connect you with your final destination, the one He’s designed just for you.

Thank Me for this day of life, recognizing that it is a precious, unrepeatable gift. Trust that I am with you each moment, whether you sense My presence or not.
A thankful, trusting attitude helps you to see events in your life from
My perspective.

– Jesus Calling, January 13

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Tracy Steel, a former interior designer and ministry leader, now delights in redesigning the interior spaces of the hearts and minds of women around her. Tracy is a military wife and mother of two, and holds an MA in biblical and theological studies. She’s a mentor, a speaker, and the author of A Redesigned Life. To connect with Tracy, visit her online home tracymsteel.com, where you’ll receive tips to freshen up your heart and home, and learn more about God’s use of the design principles in your life.