Atlanta!!

Can I tell you about my trip to Atlanta?

God has been putting the word "fly" into my mind for months now. I finally asked if He meant that He wanted me to go on a trip somewhere. Immediately the image of the acronym "ATL" came into my mind. Atlanta? I didn't know anybody in Atlanta. What could he want with me there? Alright, Lord. When do you want me to go to Atlanta?

"October 9-13." I was surprised with the quickness and clarity of His response. Turns out, it was a weekend. Alright. That's weird. I'll make a deal with you, God. I'll go if you get me a ticket under $130. No? Okay. How about $150? No? Well I guess I'm not going.....

A few days later.... "Why don't you just buy the ticket?" Fine! I guess I don't have much to lose, right? A little money, a little pride, but not much else.

As I packed, the Lord said, "Take ten dollars and a change of clothes." Oh great.... anything else? So I wandered the apartment, packing what he told me to pack: My bible, but not my journal. A book by Benazir Bhutto. A ball of string!!

Now... He told me to fly out of Midway. How do I get there? "Take the 2:30 bus." But that gives me half an hour to get on my plane!! "I want you to take that bus"

And surprise surprise. Ye olde bus got stuck in traffic. Resigned, I watched my plane's departure time come and go as I sat in traffic. *sigh* I suppose there must be some good reason for this. "Relax. Your flight is delayed. Just get to your gate." Yeah right Lord. "Trust me. You're flight is delayed." We'll see about that.

The airport monitors showed no delayed flights to Atlanta. So I meandered to my gate to try to get on the next flight. I meandered into a crowd of people beginning to board a plane to Atlanta. Its call numbers matched the ones on my ticket!

Because of the delay, I watched enraptured from my window seat as God masterfully painted the most beautiful sunset I've seen in years. The deepest crimson and orange, broken by clouds, followed by more orange and blue, climbing through another layer of cloud and finally breaking into an open sky of deep blue and steely gray ascending to the first star hanging alone in the night sky. I was tempted to believe He made it just for me. But at least I could say He wanted me to see it.

"Do you want peanuts and a drink," the flight attendant asked. Sure. I was hungry and the Lord had promised to care for every meal. This wasn't exactly prime rib, but I'd take it. Five minutes later another stewardess: "Do you want peanuts and a drink?" Sure. I smiled.

A couple hours later, I was eating a sweet potato with a friend from college who happened to live in Atlanta. Surprise, surprise. She had a guest room with a warm bed for me. I was expecting the Salvation Army, but I'd take this too.

The next day, I tutored refugee kids, attended a soccer game, had dinner with a neighbor from Chicago who HAPPENED to be there that weekend, and generally wondered what I was doing there. Sunday, I went to a Southern Baptist Church where the pastor greeted everyone in the pews (leaning down to kiss each head), the choir sang hymn after endless hymn about the blood of Jesus, and the lunch consisted of meatballs and sweet tea. Culture shock.

Sunday afternoon, the Lord spoke. “Go to Atlanta at 4:00.” Okay… I parked near the Coca-Cola museum and started to wander through an adjacent park. Just as I started to wonder what I was doing there, the Lord showed me a man smoking a cigarette…. Quite aloofly. “Go talk with him.” No no no no no no no no no no no no!!!!! I did NOT sign up for THAT! I signed up for nice cozy personal relationship with God where He whispers sweet nothings to me about loving me and having great plans for my life. I was REALLY hoping that wouldn’t involve talking to strangers.

A standoff. I read my book. The man smoked his cigarette. God waited. I got desperate. The man smoked. God waited. Finally….. “Ahem… um…. Can you…. Spare a cigarette?” Well that was lame. I don’t even smoke! “Sure,” he replied. “Need a light.” Aaaaaaah…. I never enjoyed tobacco so much in my life. My stomach was inside-out.

A conversation. Where you from? What do you do? He was Kyle, a veteran, thoroughly messed up by his experiences in Bosnia and Afghanistan, now living at the Salvation Army. Finally, I confess, “Look, I’m a Christian and I felt like God wanted me to talk to you. Is there anything I can do for you?” No? …..well yes. There was one thing. He wanted to find a Reverend Smothers. He had heard her preach and had something important to tell her. By the powers of Google, we found her and called the church. They had a service starting in half an hour.

Kyle and I sat together in the front row of First United Methodist church in downtown Atlanta. He liked it, wanted to come back sometime. I dropped him off, gave him my number and asked him to call me sometime. He thanked me. I was the only person ever to befriend him in Atlanta. I think he was as amazed by the whole thing as I was.

The next day, I met with the director of a large para-church organization. My friend from Trinity works for him and she felt it would be good for us to meet. It was. For two hours over Chic-fillet and a gallon of sweet tea, Bob Dukes invested in me, encouraging and empowering me to pursue God’s calling in my life. I also shared a message the Lord had given me for him. Bob knew exactly what the message was about.

In a life full of meetings, this one was special. It stands out. It was exactly what I need in my life right now. More than a simple encouragement, I actually felt… anointed. Needless to say, it was well worth the trip to Atlanta. God is good. I had exactly enough money for the trip, every meal was cared for, God’s leading was evident… and I found my purpose for being there. Good story, eh?