Yesterday I erased time – not really, I just switched timezones and flew from Europe to the US on an eight hour flight. Since I never was in darkness, even though my body clock said 2AM, I didn’t sleep on the plane.  Actually watched 2 great classic movies: “Robin Hood” 1938 with Errol Flynn and “To Kill a Mockingbird” 1962, one of my favorites with Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall. The theme throughout the movie was it was a sin to kill or do harm to something or someone who helps you and does you no harm – like it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird. It’s important advice as we roll thru life to not be disgruntled complainers or troublemakers when people are just trying their best. Good to be good travelers. It’s important to be “keep the peace” people and just know everything at the end, plusses and minuses will even out. Go with the flow! And we flew with the flow! Time enough to trust God! 

We ate REALLY well on the plane, 2AM body time was 8pm home time, so snack at the end of the flight was breakfast quiche and ice cream and more swiss chocolate, something for every time zone… It was a good traveling day,  although long… Train bus plane train train car ride home. 12 hours travel in 6 hours clock time due to 6 hour difference of time. Cat napped on the train. Good travel. Good to be home.

My time yesterday (erased, perceived or real) was a GOOD time for TRUSTING GOD, as well as on this whole trip – every moment was/is an OPPORTUNITY TO TRUST GOD. I did and He never left us, as my travel pouch scripture card reminded me: “I Am Always With You”. It caught my eyes in multiple financial transactions, each passport check,  etc. I trusted His presence, protection, planning and peace. Especially during plane takeoffs and landings, and realizing these people do this for a living and must trust the system for safety,  so should I.

Relying on God also came in REALLY HANDY – most handy – when the check-in agent of the most courteous Swiss airline told us that our big tickets from Zurich to the US were standby only – we were set for the first leg, an hour flight – but would have to check at the gate there and certainly trust our luggage would continue OK. Wow – I never expected that – seems a computer would know better, but there we were with a choice: Trust God or not. Glad I chose to trust Him!

We DID make the connection WITH a seat. We made the connection even if only a short planned one hour layover, which already COULD have put us on edge as American news outlets have been HYPING delays, but we had NO DELAYS and in hindsight,  we figured it was a minor glitch thing with the seat assignments (we meaning the dozen or so people on the same boat not assigned seats) and we saw MUCH efficiency and VERY courteous crews. (The only classic pushy airport agents were the active crowd control ones in the US, which is probably why they put those ladies in those necessary jobs, LOL). My scripture connection is here, 1 Chronicles 6:31-32: God assigns jobs to people, like us: caretakers, musicians, and yes especially flight attendants, customs officers, crowd control, AND CHOCOLATE MAKERS! We too have purpose and jobs to do, He gives us talents and skills.

And YES our luggage made it back safe, as verified by the smart “airtag” tracking devices that my smarter daughter installed… (and as verified by the travel chocolate I am about to eat right now. 6 hours of sleep, thank God!

I purposely chose Swiss airline and Zurich for the return trip. I decided the layover in Vienna, on our way over, was a safe choice because you could drive if needed, which we didn’t. We always arrived early for check-ins, hustled ourselves to step lively to the gates, be patient in security, and TRUST GOD. Just because God is IN CONTROL doesn’t mean you don’t cooperate and comply and do your part, check the flight trackers and hustle!

My part was trusting God and staying calm. I said that to the agent, to the fellow in the line with us who was from the US and the perfect chatty line companion we both needed. I said it to my daughter, who was absorbed in protocols for traveling (and cautioning me for not talking to loud, or not doing all those things which would embarrass her). I said if we are stuck, we were still on vacation, and we would eat MORE chocolate in Switzerland! Trust God and trust my word on the chocolates, it’s good chocolate! And we had plenty of both connection time and chocolates. (And blessedly packed 49.5lb suitcases home, each at the limit! Thank God for escalators and wheels and helpful co-travelers.)

My Facebook scrolling on the trip home brought me the sad news of one of my US cousins, My cousin’s death (a tremendous supporter encourager, she would have loved these travelogues), who passed from reoccurring cancer, age 66. She trusted God, I know she did, and was filled with joy through and through. She was a champion for ovarian cancer awareness, and a contagious JOY-germ. And through Facebook I just saw news of a church friend my age (whose daughter is the same age as my daughter) who is now diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, I don’t know the whole story, but God does. This IS a clear time to TRUST GOD. My prayers for His Peace and plan.

There’s always plenty of time to Trust God and a need to trust Him. How many times do we realize that in hindsight. How many times does Jesus as the Word tell us to TRUST GOD! Endless times… and that’s the point, we ARE on an endless time continum WITH GOD, if we just take an opportunity to step on His conveyor belt, His escalators, and that eventual Heavenly Elevator. 

We prayerfully has much more time on this planet to keep making this time for travel. But if we don’t, we will accept and change conveyor belts. Trust God and He will book the plans! “Book the Plans”, get it? Jesus is the Word in the Book! Book my plans Lord!

Lord, Thanks for taking us on Your Flight.

Amen

PS God never goes on vacation, but He is always with you on yours…

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2 Chronicles 6:31-32

These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.