A First Class Surprise

photo courtesy Ansel Adams, wiki commonsWe were saddenedhere to learn of the death of former President Jimmy Carter. Though we might nothave agreed on several subjects, his work for Habitat for Humanity, his rolebrokering peace around the world, and his humble lifestyle of faith have earnedhim the respect of many of us. He is the only President I have ever hadopportunity to personally meet. I wrote about that for my book, Faith in theFashion District—stories of God’s faithfulness during the years I spent as abuyer. I share an excerpt from that book today. I was traveling with Valerie, abuyer who was only with us for a short time as she was about to be married andmove. I prayed something special would happen on a triptogether to New York . . . and something did. 

“On a beautifulclear November afternoon, our plane taxied down an Atlanta runway and took tothe skies headed for Manhattan. 

What happened nextclearly fell under the category of the words in Ephesians 3:20― that God isable to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” 

It would be anunderstatement to say Valerie and her fiancé were politically oriented.Politics almost eclipsed everything else in their life. At the time, her soon tobe husband worked on a congressional member’s political campaign, but Iimagined that he might run for office himself in the future. And so, for awhile, that’s what Valerie and I discussed then we both began reading ourbooks. 

I looked up frommy seat in coach and couldn’t believe who emerged from first class. 

Seriously? 

I nudged mycolleague, Valerie, sitting next to me in the plane. ‘Is that who I think itis?’ 

She gazed up fromthe book she read and her face reflected the same shock I felt. She nodded, ‘Itis.’

Another one ofthose somebody pinch me moments. 

‘Did you see himwhen we boarded?’ I asked. 

Valerie shook herhead.                                                               

I closed my book. ‘Hemust have come in late to first class.’ 

The thirty-ninthPresident of the United States, Jimmy Carter, smiled his Plains, Georgia smilewhile shaking the hand of everyone on that 727. He had only lost his reelectioncampaign two years prior to current President, Ronald Reagan. 

Valerie and Ilooked at each other incredulously. 

I can’t evenremember whether Valerie pitched her tent in the same political arena as hedid. I only remembered it didn’t seem to matter. 

Flanked by theSecret Service, he moved closer to us. I whispered to Valerie, ‘I prayed aboutthis. I think God did this for you.’ I believed it. If anything would have madethe trip special for her, it would have been meeting a political figure likePresident Carter. I didn’t think  I’d everforget the experience either. I debated inside myself what brilliant thing Imight say to him when he shook my hand, but ‘So nice to meet you,’ seemed all Icould manage. He shook my hand and then grasped Valerie’s. 

Neither of usreturned to our books the rest of the trip. We just sat there slack jawed tryingto process what had happened. 

But as amazing asthis, God wasn’t finished yet. 

Val only saw hermom and dad once a year because they lived in California. Her sister had justmoved to New Jersey, and her dad was visiting her. I still don’t know how, but herdad and sister managed to meet us at LaGuardia in a very narrow window of timebefore her dad’s 7:00 flight from JFK back to California. 

A sweet reunion. 

That evening afterarriving at my hotel, I reflected on a verse the Lord had given me early thatmorning, ‘Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol himwho rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord’ (Psalm 68:4). 

Ihad begun the morning with praise and if I ever sensed God riding on the cloudswith me, it had been during that flight into New York City. I didn’t even knowformer presidents flew commercial. I don’t know what I thought they did, maybeprivate charters, but it seemed God, himself, had chartered this trip for us.Hanging up there at 35,000 feet, God spun an experience we would remember for alifetime. 

Also,what grace Valerie had that glorious meeting with her dad and sister for a fewmoments. 

Only in my lifefor months, Valerie did move on after she got married. I never saw her again. Ihave no idea where she is today, but I wonder if she, too, looks back on thatday and sees the hand of God as clearly as I do. 

When we arediligent to pray, God responds to those prayers in ways we may not anticipate.Surprising ways. Beyond imagining ways. 

Certainly, theBible is full of such occurrences. 

The Psalmist,David, who wrote about God riding on the clouds had begun life as a shepherdboy perhaps never imagining his life would encompass more than those Judeanhills. God had bigger plans, and David’s faithfulness in watching over a fewsheep was only a small beginning for his future―becoming a kind of presidenthimself, King of all Israel. 

Of course, therest of the buying trip would be uneventful compared to the experience ofmeeting a former president. 

But doing so forgedin me the significance of prayer and the exceeding and abundant power of ourawesome God.”

I’m thankful forthis wonderful experience of meeting President Carter. Our prayers are with theCarter family. 

 

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