The eve of Christmass Eve...

[olger]

(I'll edit this later. I wrote it on the flight home..)

T'was the eve of Christmas Eve.

Along with thousands of other travelers I was stranded in the Minneapolis airport, in the teeth of a winter- storm.

Four hours of waiting in the airport combined into a mixture of weariness and restlessness. I had already placed the matter in God's capable hands, but my human side was really bored.

I finally got up off of the floor and walked around the terminal, coming to a stop against the floor to ceiling glass windows in the corner. Alone there, I could see the snow swirling outside in the darkness and the the heavy Caterpillar equipment working hard to keep the airplane runways clean. In the distance, a group of Boeing 737's huddled like cold birds in the winter wind.

After a moment a TSA lady came and stood beside me and we exhanged small talk about the weather, christmass and the cots on second floor-- cots that we might need if the night got any later. She moved away.

Another person moved to the glass beside me and we watched the elements outside together. I remarked to him, "Kind of bleak out there isn't isnt it..?" He agreed, in an accent I wasnt' familiar with. About thirty years old, he was from Tel Aviv and trying to get home to Israel. He had been in Minneapolis on business.

We talked freely about the weather, Iraq and family. He was very intelligent and good to talk with. I kept sensing that God wanted me to talk to this man about Him so I asked the Lord for an opportunity. It soon came when he spoke to me about life in Israel. He said he thought Judaism was dumb with all of its rules, and how mankind was basically good anyway. Now I like optimism as much as anyone, and understand the difference between positive thinking and humanistic confusion.

I asked Lev if he believed that God existed. Well..he wasn't sure but he allowed that it might be possible. He asked if I believed.

"Yes I do" I replied. "But I don't waste time arguing about it."

I told him that some people believe that we evolved from lower-life forms, and some (like me) believe that we are created by God. I told him that since I believed that i am created by God, that gives me a sense of purpose. I am here for a reason. It also opens the door for hope that there is life beyond this life. That gives me an edge and a sense of fulfillment.

On the other hand if I believe that I evolved from lower-life forms, there is no purpose for me being here. All I can do is gather as much stuff as I can in the short time that I am here and soon I will die be buried and someone else gets all my stuff. He fell silent, thinking...

"I don't know..." he countered. "The greatest argument against Gos is all of these bad things that happen in the world."

"A lot of people wonder why evil exists" I said. Did you ever wonder why God didn't call satan into His office back when sin began--and kill him?" He knew that if He did that the whole universe would have served him out of fear. One supreme question would have burned in the minds of all of us... "Who's next?" God knew that he had to allow sin to exist for a while, so all of us could have a good look at it and see that it isn't a good thing."

"I've never met anyone quite like you" he said. I have a lot of friends in Israel but I don't know anyone like yourself."

" Well I'm just a country boy from Ohio who believes in God. Nothing special."

The second reason I believe in God is the changes I have seen in people's lives. I shared some of these experiences with Lev who by now was keenly interested in what I was saying. I told him of a couple experiences we have had in the counseling ministry over the last six years. Dramatic changes have occured in people's lives. Lev said "That's a miracle." I agreed.

I said that he & I had something in common - -we were both looking for God. And i had found Him. Everyone is looking for God, and often we look for Him in wrong things,...drugs, money, sex, fame, fortune etc.

"But none of those things satisfy, and they leave a person feeling empty, sad and lonely. And that feeling catches us when life slows down and we lay our head on our pillow at night. Our hearts are lonely for God."

He stared at me for a long moment. The Spirit of God had touched him inside in this brief conversation. We both looked at the winter storm outside quietly. I prayed that God would touch him with truth.

Then we heard cheering from the American Airlines gate E16. They were going to load a plane for Dallas. I said I had to go. We shook hands and I wished him well.

As I turned to leave I heard him say these simple words. "God bless you Gerry."

"Same to you Lev."

Pray for this man, dear friends. He represents so many dear people who are looking for happiness in Him.

brother Gerry

Ps. As we left the GYC conference, we all prayed that God might bring opportunities to each of us to bless others.

[olger]

Shared the story around the dinner table yesterday. My friend Eric said "That guy won't forget those words."

I believe he's right.

Some of you have stories like this. Let's hear them please...

oG

Ps. Is there a way to edit typos after one hour? Or are we stuck with them? :)