Mount Ljuboten, the Flag, and Me

After several months of training and hard work, the stress level in my office was nearly unbearable. I needed a break, and fortunately, I recently got one. I was looking forward to going home, seeing my family and reconnecting with some friends I had not seen since February. I praise God that I got the chance. His timing was perfect and I was able to accomplish a lot of things I really wanted to do around the house.

I also presented a flag to my home church that was flown over Camp Bondsteel while First Baptist was celebrating their Centennial. The presentation was a significant emotional event for me and I almost didn’t get through it during the second service. The standing ovation I received really choked me up. I still don’t feel I deserved it. I rather think my wife is the real hero in my family. She has done a terrific job keeping things together in my absence.

The Lord certainly had a hand in my return to Kosovo as the flight was one to remember. To begin, my itinerary was routed through DFW and Chicago O’Hare, then on to Frankfurt, where I would stay the night before hitching a ride on a C-130 to Kosovo. The flight was delayed on take-off from Dallas, where we sat on the tarmac for approximately one hour before being allowed to proceed. The delay meant we would be landing in Chicago as our ride to Frankfurt was lifting off.

I prayed. 

I know pilots often take pride in their ability to predict flight times and landing times, but apparently this one made a mistake amounting to about 30 minutes. The pilot stated, “Either the airline built some added cushion into the flight time or we picked up an unexpected tail wind that allowed us to make up some time.”

I believe God was blowing on the airplane to get us to Chicago on time.

But wait! That’s not all! When we arrived in Chicago, we sat on the Tarmac again waiting for our gate to open up. The wait caused us to pull up to the gate with about 15 minutes to get onto our overseas flight. I thought, “There is NO WAY our bags will get from this plane to the other one in 15 minutes.” We would certainly have to file a lost luggage claim in Frankfurt.

I prayed. And I felt at ease.

About 11 hours later, we landed at our destination, passed through Customs, and lo and behold, my bag was one of the first to come off the aircraft. Praise the Lord, He is a God of Wonders.

Matthew 21:22:   ^“And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

 

I love you all and look forward to seeing you when I return home.

   
God bless you and thanks for visiting.