This is only a test......

Have you ever experienced a moment you thought you had lived before, a second chance, or déjà vu? Sometimes I wonder if these encounters are “do over” scenarios because the first time wasn’t pleasing to God. As we move through life, we learn and grow, but then comes a test of how we respond to the situation we just learned about. I’ll give you an example:

Recently, our family planned a trip to Colorado to bury my mother-in-law. We purchased tickets to fly from Richmond in the afternoon. Due to many unfortunate events (car trouble, over sleeping, traffic, food, wrong directions,) we were running very close to catching our flight. Finally, we got to the gate within ten minutes before take off! We had checked in earlier through our phones, so everything was going to be alright. We made it….so we thought! The flight agent looked at us and frankly told us she had given our seats away, and then proceeded to close the door! We had missed our flight!

Now, this was about to get ugly. In my mind, I wanted jumped across the counter and demand she make things right. The agent was rude and unprofessional in many ways. She was also unwilling to help us find another flight that would leave in time for us to get to Colorado for the graveside service the next morning. We were all stressed beyond measure and exhausted from the day’s events. It would have been easy to cause a scene and yell at the agent for the unfairness we were feeling. Even the thought of going home seemed like a good option. It took a few moments to calm down and begin to let our brains absorb what just happened. Then I remembered: this is a test….how will you respond?

Last year, while traveling to Belize, we had a similar situation arise. Due to events beyond our control, our connecting flight left for home without us. The handling of the situation was, obviously, not pleasing to God so our family had to take time to learn, grow, and re-test.

After some time to regroup, we were able to secure a flight that evening, receive a full refund for the flight we had missed, and meet a flight agent who was a very helpful young lady. She was a home school graduate and a Believer. We arrived in Colorado to celebrate life with extended family and friends. It was a wonderful adventure, and we are hopeful this time passed our test!

The next time when situations keep repeating, stop and think. Is this a test? How should I respond so that Christ will be pleased, honored, and glorified? Life is full of lessons, and we should be open to keep learning and growing.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-3

Health-bite: Stop, think, pray, pass your test!