Divine Outcome from Yet Another Blunder (Conclusion)

“The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.” – Genesis 41:32

Last week I shared about going online to get my boarding pass to fly home from Phoenix the next day, only to discover I had been scheduled to fly home that day, and the plane had just taken off …

https://seekingdivineperspective.com/2024/04/27/divine-outcome-from-yet-another-blunder/

Long story short, a very kind agent had helped me get a reservation on the flight I had thought I was on in the first place.

Once the panic had subsided and I had “got a grip,” it occurred to me that although mistakes and blunders seem to be a daily occurrence for me, in God’s plan there are no mistakes … at least no mistakes bigger than He is able to use. I began to wonder what He had planned for my return trip…

After boarding the plane and maneuvering my precious guitar into the overhead bin, I squeezed into the last available seat.

Of course, I had a middle seat. – But zero complaints. I was just grateful to be on my way home – and a little excited, knowing God was at the helm of my life. I was wearing my favorite t-shirt, the one that says, “If being a Christian is boring, you’re doing it wrong,” and that was my attitude that day.

I sat between two men, one of them on his laptop doing business, and the other looking at his phone but open to small talk. We exchanged information about where we were from, where we were going, and recent experiences. When there was a lull in the conversation, he turned toward the window, closed his eyes, and tipped his hat down over half his face to take a nap. Reading the subtle body language (Hey, nothing gets by me.), I assumed that for now the Lord just wanted me to Himself for a while, at least until I saw some evidence to the contrary.

I closed my own eyes and “napped” (prayed silently) until the flight attendants brought us drinks. By this time the other man had put away his laptop and was having a drink and chatting and laughing with his friend across the aisle. When the attendant brought their second round, the man across the aisle nodded toward me and said to his friend, “She’s starting to look worried.” They laughed. I laughed. And we started to talk.

These two men were heading for Kentucky to go turkey hunting with friends for the weekend. They inquired about my guitar, which had apparently grabbed their attention when I got on board. Paul, the man next to me, had taken up guitar recently. But as he was 51 years old, he felt that his late start had been a disadvantage. He’d been encouraging his children to play instead. This led to a long discussion of instruments, children, and (in my case) grandchildren, various musical genres, and blended genres. I told him about the fascinating and extremely entertaining concert my sister and I had attended, an ensemble of seven ukelele players. The most creative piece, to me, had been when they sang the lyrics of a Black Sabbath song to the tune of a French classical piece … on ukeleles … wearing tuxedos. (Who thinks up this stuff?!)

Eventually, we got on the subject of my writing, and Paul seemed sincerely interested. He told me the highly unusual love story of his parents; his father had been a priest and his mother a cloistered nun. With special permission, they had married and had ten children! “You should write about them!” he suggested.

“Maybe you should,” I responded. Paul confessed to me that he had always wanted to be a writer. But with a wife and six kids to support, he’d had to settle for a more practical career. He opened his phone and showed me his one original poem, which he had written in college. I read it.

I read it again.

It was magnificent. I told him he should publish it. And he should write more. He gave an evasive non-answer…

“May I at least post it on my blog?” I persisted, and he said, “Sure.” I gave him my email address, and he sent it from his phone.

Paul then opened another screen containing one name, that of a woman he had met a couple of weeks before on another flight. He said she was a famous sci-fi writer, but since that’s a genre I’m not “into,” I hadn’t heard of her.

“She told me the same thing, that I should write,” he said.

I told him about a class I had taken in biblical interpretation of dreams and prophecies. We had learned that 2 is the number of revelation. I reminded him of the story of Joseph in Genesis, when Pharaoh had had two prophetic dreams. In interpreting them, Joseph had told him, “The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.”

“So, ” I announced smugly, “she said you should write, and I’m confirming it. I guess it’s settled. You’re a writer.”

Paul looked intrigued. “Maybe so …”

Sadly, when I got home, I looked in my emails for Paul’s poem and didn’t find it. I searched the “spam” folder, the “trash” folder … nothing.

So, Paul, if you’re reading this, you’ll have to publish that poem yourself. If not, at least put it in the comments below, so my followers can enjoy it.

(Please.)

And KEEP WRITING.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for directing my life in many ways, some of them crazy, some of them embarrassing and humbling. (Maybe that’s the point?) Inspire Paul to write the things You want him to write. Bless and use his writing. Reward him for the sacrifices he made to provide for his wife and children. Let his future be even more fulfilling than the past. May his home be filled with children, stories, music, laughter, and most of all, faith in You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.