Janet seemed prestigious. Her exterior seemed so well put together and I got the sense perhaps she believed she was “too good” for the company of an ordinary person like me. She looked like she may be Haitian…if this were true; she was definitely one of the very few upper-class people in Haiti. I admit I began placing judgments on her from the second I sat down. She had the window seat on our three seat row and I was seated on the aisle of that same row leaving an empty seat between the two of us. She had all of her electronics and some sort of gourmet chef magazine strewn in the empty seat between us as if to say she was more worthy of the extra seat space than me. Maybe she was a well-respected lawyer or doctor. But, if that was the case, why wasn’t she flying first class?
The only thing we seemed to have in common was the fact that we were on the same plane flying from Miami, Florida to Port au Prince, Haiti. My mind was bouncing all over the place. I had building excitement of being only hours away from meeting my baby girls for the first time. I was in flat-out awe that I was even going to Haiti again. And, there was the unwanted distraction of this seemingly impressive and significant lady sitting next to me. If I’m honest, my flesh had no desire to interact with this lady. I wanted to relish in the thoughts of my own personal agenda…mapping out the plans and steps I would take once I landed on Haitian soil. The Spirit on the other hand was tugging hard at my heart and I began pondering if I should tell her about Jesus. What if she doesn’t know Him? This was only an hour flight and I had just spent the first 40 minutes of this flight time going back and forth thinking of ways to justify not speaking to this lady to entertaining the thought of what in the world I would say to prompt a conversation that could lead to sharing my faith with her. With only 20 minutes left before we would part ways at the Haiti airport, my spirit won the battle and as she sat one seat over from me flipping through the pages of her gourmet chef magazine, I asked her if she lived in Haiti?
I wondered how the LORD would possibly use this question to guide the conversation to sharing Jesus. ..I’m working on not questioning the ‘how’ and just being obedient. (By the way, thanks for the encouragement today, Tricia). Every time I obey God’s leading, He uses it for His glory.
In the case of this lady, God used my single trivial question to transform the appearance of an outwardly noteworthy yet non-welcoming exterior to reveal a soft, broken interior. Often we put up a false front to disguise/cope with the brokenness we have inside.
She immediately began unloading on me. She told me her niece who was a chef was killed in the January earthquake. Her husband still lives in Port au Prince but the trauma she experienced from the sights and smells of death as she lived through the earthquake was more than she could bear. If she thinks about it too much she will break out in hives.
She has been living with a brother in Florida and traveling back and forth to visit her husband and other family who still live in Haiti. She began to cry. She is a believer but was in desperate need of spiritual encouragement. We all need to be built up and encouraged on our life journey.
The Holy Spirit was present and all of the sudden Janet’s intense earthly struggles began to fade as the hope and joy we have in Jesus stirred in both of us. We were overjoyed how God made us sisters in His family and that He allowed our paths to cross if even for a short 20 minutes. Nothing could stop us from proclaiming the awesomeness of Jesus. We know we will see each other in Heaven when our tears will be no more! I wish I had the words to express the change of not only our spirits in that moment but even physically…Janet physically reflected a radiant glow...it was the light of Jesus.
I told Janet I was so happy we had an empty seat between us that opened up the chance for us to talk. She told me, “That seat is not empty. Jesus has been sitting there.”
I agreed.
Thank you, Jesus, for sitting between Janet and I on our flight to Haiti.
I believe the LORD used me to build up Janet in her faith on this plane ride but I view Janet as a precious gift to me. It’s sometimes easier to feel compassion for those whose exteriors reveal their brokenness. Janet was exactly the one I needed to show me how everyone needs compassion… particularly/especially those who appear to have it all together. Janet also taught me how a small amount of compassion can feed an aching soul and even help one find their joy and hope in the LORD.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”
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