For Such a Time as This

    Airports make me nervous, although I'm not sure why. I had flown very little when I set out to catch an international flight to Africa. According to the plan, I was supposed to meet up with a group of other teachers in a major airport and we would continue our journey together. As things happened, I arrived at the gate with a couple of hours to spare. I had no telephone numbers to contact the other girls. I did not know the time their flight was due in. I did not even know their names. 

    My anxiety about this trip into the unknown was compounded by a panicky feeling that perhaps I had the wrong gate. What if I somehow missed the others? What if their flight was delayed? What would I do if my flight was ready to leave and the girls had never put in an appearance? With nothing to do but worry, my nerves were stretched nearly to the breaking point. I started to pray. "God, please let somebody show up soon! I can't handle this much longer. I need someone, God, anyone, and I need them now!" It wasn't much of a prayer, more a desperate plea. Of course, I meant one of the fabled girls I was supposed to be meeting, but God had other plans.

    I looked out at the broad corridor running past the waiting area. No one. I looked around at the other people waiting for their flights. None of them looked worried or even lonely. Most just looked bored. Then my eyes settled on a woman a few seats away. 

    She was slight of build, wearing black jeans and shirt. She was fifty-five at least, with short hair dyed what I suppose was meant to be chestnut. Her bags were on the floor around her, and she was just sitting there. She didn't look very happy. The wrinkles in her face weren't the kind that come from laughter. All at once I felt a little nudge: "Go talk to her."

    I was ready to try anything, but approaching complete strangers and striking up a conversation was definitely not in my comfort zone. Finally I gathered up my nerve and my luggage and moved to within a couple seats of the woman. 

    Slowly we fell into conversation. She had lived a very interesting life and was as willing to talk as I was to listen. I don't know how long we visited, but when I looked again at the time, minutes had passed much more swiftly than I realized. Eventually she excused herself. She returned with food from a nearby restaurant and resumed talking to me. Then she left again. I moved to a different spot, afraid of imposing on her. The next time she appeared, she was motioning to me, "I think your friends are here! They're just coming now." I thanked her and went to meet the other girls. What a relief!

    I didn't notice the woman much after that, although I bade her farewell as we parted ways. Today, I can't tell you any particular facial features or even what we talked about, but in my heart of hearts I will always look upon our brief acquaintance not as a chance occurrence, but as an answer to prayer. She was put into my life for such a time as I had need of a distraction. And who knows? Perhaps she needed someone to talk to as much as I did.

    "For such a time as this." That phrase is very impressive to me. Many times I wonder why I have been placed in this or that situation. It seems overwhelming to me, or as if someone else could fill the place better. Often, the thought of Esther comes stealing in. Just as I am sure she had many questions, so do I. I may not understand all the reasons, but it is I, not someone else, that God has chosen to fill this position. I may never know the impact I have on someone else's life. I may not realize the value of our interactions, but if God has placed me here, I must certainly trust Him enough to believe He has a good purpose and a divine plan. 

    Perhaps you have wondered with me why you were chosen to live in this time in history. Likely others have asked that question in the generations preceding us. But the unknown looms so large. Why me? Why 2020? Again comes the now familiar and comforting words: "...who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" 

    God, the great designer of the Universe, certainly did not carelessly plan your existence. He sees a much larger picture than you or I, and He has a special place for each one of us to fill, even though you may never completely realize the part you are playing. Did the woman who spoke to me at the airport know she had been placed in my life for a purpose? It's doubtful. Let us each follow humbly whatever promptings we are given, whatever direction He may send, for it is sure that we have been placed here, not by accident, but to serve His purpose in such a time as this.