Airline scramble

What a thrilling phone call.  A surprising one, to say the least.  This morning I woke up tired and groggy, and the idea of sorting through flight times and escalating prices with the travel agent wasn’t exactly appealing.  I pleaded, “Lord, lead me.  May You give peace.  Let me feel close to You in this.”  Curled up on the couch and staring out my favorite window, my eyes slipped toward the coffee table.  There sat my friend’s notes, and I remembered her talking about 2 Corinthians 5.  Verse 10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”  Suddenly several events from the last couple of weeks converged in my head, and a new idea pressed in:  Ask the travel agent if she knows Jesus.  According to that verse in Corinthians, I would be held accountable for following through.  But I needed to think about this.  I hadn’t envisioned my conversation with the travel agent including this question.  Temptation conjured a variety of reactions she might have, including anger, and a friend suggested to me later that an angry agent could have sabotaged my tickets.  But as it actually happened, around 11:00 that morning, the travel agent called to report ticket prices staying high and to ask what I wanted to do.  Reluctant to spend too much too soon, I replied, “May I pause a minute to pray?”  So with the agent listening over the phone, I asked the Lord to show me whether to purchase now or wait.  Then I opted to purchase at the higher price.  We discussed the fluctuation of prices we’d seen over our roughly 10 days together, and then as I sensed the Lord opening that conversational door I awaited, I asked her if she knew Jesus.  “Yes,” she responded, "I do."  We finished the billing process, and she said she’d email the tickets.  Yet when she called to confirm my receipt, her voice conveyed a curious inflection, saying, “Very interesting, Linda,” and I imagined her speaking complete with smirk and furled brow.  “When I sent your reservations for final ticketing,” she continued, “prices fell.  Your fares to Israel ended up the lowest we’ve seen.”  And as my heart danced in amazement, she added, “And you prayed!  You prayed about the tickets!”  She was clearly happy, in fact so happy that we talked about faith and the Lord for quite a while.  That combination of prayer over the phone and the question the Lord led me to ask her seemed a launching pad for pure joy.  All the while my heart kept turning cartwheels to realize how the Lord lowered the ticket prices.  And certainly nothing required Him to do that.  Just a bonus gift.  There was monetary benefit for my husband and me, but even more it seemed the Lord was encouraging obedience, as He simply loves to reward His children.  And as He bestows many layers of blessings all at once, I witnessed the travel agent being a recipient of encouragement as well.  I look back to recognize the Lord working weeks before, setting me in earshot of a particular restaurant conversation and 2 separate phone calls, which He orchestrated to keep fresh in my head until converging at that perfect moment with the travel agent.  It's thrilling each time I recount the story.  May I never underestimate, may we never underestimate, His omniscience and great power.