“But let all who take refuge in You be glad;  let them ever sing for joy.  Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your Name may rejoice.  For surely, O Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield.”   ~Psalm 5:11-12  (NIV)

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a Premier Design’s “Jewelry Lady”.  I love my “job” because it enables me to go into the homes of women, meet their friends and family, and give them lots of free jewelry.  It is a ministry in and of itself.

I tell you that to tell you this….Some of the Premier Jeweler’s on my team went with me to a National Conference that our company held in Fort Worth, Texas, this past week.  While we were there, it became obvious that the enemy had formed an attack against our group.

When we arrived at DFW airport on Wednesday, we waited and waited for all the luggage.  One by one the bags came, then the message displayed, “All bags have been delivered.”  That would have been fine if in fact all the bags had been delivered.  However, that was not the case.  Pat, one of the ladies on my team, did not receive her bag.  She had all of her diabetic medications in that bag.

Back and forth she went with the airlines trying to find out where her bag was.  Finally, late that night, she discovered that the bag had never left the Orlando airport.  She was promised that it would be on the early flight out the next day.  She received her bag around midnight Thursday evening.

In the meantime, the convention had begun.  At the convention center, though, the air conditioner was broken.  Understand, there were almost 8000 people in this overheated convention center.  Nonetheless, we all made the best of it and just kept “fanning ourselves” throughout the meeting.

Because Pat hadn’t had her medication, she wasn’t feeling well; so she decided to go back to the hotel early.  Great idea, right?  WRONG!  Her bus broke down!  OK, at this point…..no luggage and a broken down bus.  A passenger, whom we’ll call McGiver, fixed the bus with a paperclip (no joke!).  The bus inched along until it came to the first drop off point so that the passengers could be re-routed.

Back at the hotel, we discovered that hotel personnel had incorrect information in their system regarding our stay there.  I had given the correct information to them twice.  I guess the third time was a charm, because they finally got it right.

Friday went great!  Saturday was amazing!  Then came the flight home…..  We were at the airport eating dinner when I suddenly became increasingly overwhelmed with anxiety.  I thought I was feeling this way because of sleep deprivation, so I dismissed my feelings.  Again, this overwhelming sensation came over me.  I began to pray.  I would overcome for a few moments, then be bombarded with this feeling of anxiety.  The feeling was so strong that I was contemplating my refusal not to take our flight.

After I couldn’t completely overcome this feeling, I called my prayer partner and my husband and shared my struggle.  I then began to pray, “Lord, if there is any reason why I shouldn’t get on this flight, please let me know.  If there are any mechanical problems, weather situations, or people issues that would result in danger, please don’t let the plane even leave the tarmac”.  Pat, Mallory, Teresa, and Dina also joined hands with me and prayed before boarding the plane.

After boarding the plan, the pilot announced that there was a problem with the hydraulic system.  OH MY GOSH!  Peace covered me like a large blanket!  I was filled with joy and thankfulness that the Holy Spirit had urged us to pray so specifically!  We also found out later that the “Pan handle” of Florida had been under severe weather at the time of our delay.

Even so. the plane made sounds that I’ve never heard before during “take off” and “landing”.  But God kept us safe!

We took a shuttle from the airport to the parking lot where my car was.  On the way to the lot, the door on the shuttle bus flew open.  We all “lost it”.  We laughed and cried so hard that we could hardly talk.  I’m sure the driver thought we were drunk.  The enemy just wouldn’t leave us alone.  BUT GOD…..

We arrived at my house, hugged each other, and went our separate ways.  I found out today that Mallory hit a pole on her way out and destroyed her passenger side mirror.

I DON’T BELIEVE IN COINCIDENCE!

The enemy was hard at work trying to ruin our trip and possibly take our lives.  BUT THE HAND OF GOD WAS UPON US, COVERING US, AND SHIELDING US!

It’s an amazing thing to see so clearly and unmistably the Hand of God at work!  Maybe you’ve wondered, at times, if God has forgotten you or failed to see your situation.  Let me encourage you today:  Nothing is too big or too small for our God!  Even the winds and waves obey his voice.  Learn to be sensitive to His Spirit and trust Him.  He’s an on-time God!