Do you ever pull your Bible out in public and wonder what others are thinking about you? Don’t get me wrong; I am not consumed with what others think, but I am a little curious from time to time. On this particular day, my mind wandered to that place.
I was so excited to get to my seat on the plane. You see, I meet an amazing friend almost every time I fly. It is a friendship I long for, a time my heart desires, a place where I can be filled up ready to face the world.
I call it “my special place with God.”
It is our place where we connect on a level that I never knew was possible. I meet God in that seat almost every single time I fly.
Upon arriving at my seat, I begin to set up in sort of a routine kind of way. First I pull my Bible out, get my music going, and grab my prayer journal. But on this particular day, I noticed the man sitting next to me looking on with sort of a blank stare. My thoughts took me to a place that I rarely go.
What in the world does he think of me?
I have my Bible propped up, and barely a hello was uttered from my lips? I decided to pause and embrace those thoughts for a minute.
Does he think I am one of those Christian fanatics that might start doing weird things? Or maybe he thinks I am scared to death to fly. Is he concerned I might start reciting verses aloud or try to convert him on the spot? Or just maybe, he reads the same Bible and would like to strike up a conversation.
Then I go to the moral side. Does the man sitting next to me assume I have an attitude? That I carry around the holier-than-thou point of view? Does he think my purpose is to show off that I am a Christian? Oh, how I wish I could see into his mind, or he would ask me, “why do you have your Bible out?” It would give me the opportunity to share just why I seek God in this particular place.
If he only knew how God pulled me through years of painful flights. Those trips where my heart could barely contain the pain of leaving a child behind. That seat on the airplane has always been a place I could count on meeting God. It was a place God always made his presence known, that
I WAS NOT ALONE.
If only the man sitting next to me knew, God’s word sets my moral compass. I am no better than the next nor do I think so. In that time, God shows me where I come up short, where I need to point my compass and where I need to strive in life.
I find strength, hope, and a love I can’t deny.
Then I thought to myself what if I never read my Bible? Oh my goodness, could you imagine what kind of person I would be? Yes, I am a Christian, but not a perfect person. My flaws show just like everybody else. From time to time I am rude, short with people, make mistakes, and I don’t always make good choices. I can guarantee you this, if I did not allow God’s word to pour over me on a regular basis, the man sitting next to me for sure would want to find another seat. Instead of seeing the little lady reading her Bible; he would find the wicked monster in the seat next to him.
My trips have turned from painful to pleasure over the years, but it is still my incredible place with God. I take silly pictures out of the airplane window and thank God for the beauty I see. Sometimes I get that feeling that I could walk right out on the wing and touch Jesus. I even imagine him walking towards me on the clouds. I love my meeting place with GOD. The truth is it is my spot where I usually lose sight of the person sitting next to me until God nudges me to be a little friendlier.
Do you have a special place where you meet with Jesus?
I would love to hear where?
If not, I encourage you to find that place – it is amazing.
Oooooooooooh! This is so thought-provoking. Due to living in a large metropolitan area, we frequently see people with prayer rugs and we think nothing of it. Yet, we can be frightened about what others think of us.
However, you are correct about us needing to represent God in a kind and loving way. My friends all got Christian bumper stickers- all but one. I asked the man why he didn’t get one when the rest of us did. He said it was because he knew he did not always represent Christ when he was driving. 😀😀😀😀😀
And, your beautiful post makes me think of all my years when I was a waitress. The rest of the wait staff hated Sunday lunch. They hated Sunday lunch because they said the church crowd was the worst bunch of stuck-up people who prayed over their meals and then did not tip (or tipped very little). I always remember that when I eat out. If we are going to pray over a meal then we are going to act respectfully to the staff and tip before we leave. 😀
Thank you for blessing us with your sweet words and for inspiring so many. 😀😀
Erin, Thank you for sharing your experience with being a waitress. That is just awful. It goes to show you we are representing Christ wherever we go and whatever we do. Of course, we are still human and flawed like everybody else, but we do need to keep in mind when we step out in public and claim him people are watching. Thank you for your kind words and insightful comment.
Maree
It’s how I start my mornings 98% of the time. I sit on my blue couch, read a poem first (it settles my mind), then read my chronological Bible while sipping coffee. Believe me, everyone is better off when I start my day this way!
Traci, Thank you for sharing about your morning time. I love that you hit it at 98% of the time. I have to admit when I don’t start my day with quiet time with God things just aren’t the same. Blessings, Maree
My special place for a number of years was to go to the track in our town and walk and talk with God. Since we’ve moved, I no longer have that one place. Now I spend a lot of time walking the streets of Manhattan and I find myself with a different way of praying – for the homeless, because I know Jesus would be on his hands and knees tending to their needs.
Walking in the street of Manhattan sounds fabulous! How wonderful that you walk with God and pray for people as you see them.It is so amazing how God will meet us anywhere we just have to be open to him. Maree
I love it when I can meet quietly with God at my dining room table, but often I have to “grab and go” and I’m always thankful that God is not hindered by location. It’s good for us to take the Word wherever we go — as a reminder to ourselves and to others that it’s a normal part of life and belongs close by.
Michele,
Me too! I am so glad God goes wherever we go. We are so blessed by his presence.
Blessings, Maree
I love your thoughts here on your special place and how God has met you so faithfully and brought you hope and joy through the years.
My favorite place to meet with God is in a special chair in one corner of our living room where I keep my Bible, notebook, and study supplies. But this is not the only place that God makes Himself known to me. I require a distraction-free place most of the time, but I have often been aware of God’s presence and guidance when I’m driving or when a storm is almost on us.
I love that you have a few special places where God makes himself known. I love that one of them is right before a storm. I am going to have to be aware of that the next time a story is upon us. I too have recently found a special chair where I meet God. I am right there with you about the distraction free, it helps. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Thank you for stopping by. Maree
Maree, how lovely is this? Love your heart, friend. — And, I think that next time I need to fly, I’m going to try this. I have an aversion to flying, so it’s not something I do often. But, you make it sound other-worldly. 🙂 Thank you. ((hug))
Brenda,
I am so sorry you have an aversion to flying. I love it! I even thought about becoming a pilot not too long ago. Last time I rode on the plane this nice young man had the window seat. He kept taking pictures. (I do that too) I wanted to get the nerve up to annoy him and take some with my phone, but I let him just have his time, and I just peeked around him. Thank you for stopping by and reading. Maree
I meet with God each morning in my small living room. I have a special place set up with a comfy love seat, my beloved Bible, a collection of devotionals, a candle, and a book of the month. I’m currently reading “Comeback” by Louie Giglio. After my prayer and reflection, I move to our rear porch for more reflection and praise. There are days my TAG time (Time Alone with God) is shorter than I prefer but I make time for no less than an hour each morning to offer up prayers and praise. On those unusual mornings that my routine is altered for whatever reason, it impacts my day until I can get alone with God! And, my little Yorkie aRLo rests quietly until He knows my meeting with God is complete!
Robin – I love what you call your time with God – TAG time. Thank you so much for sharing what your TAG time consists of. It sounds absolutely magnificent. I like how you move from one place to another. I think I might incorporate a few of your ideas into my quiet time or should I say TAG time.
I too have a special chair I sit in. It is pretty neat I glance over during the day and see it, and it warms my heart.
Blessings,
Maree
Louie is the real deal. We went to his services for several years. I was excited to see his two most recent books that came out. 😀
I feel encouraged when I see someone open their Bible in public because it helps me know that some people are using His word as their manual for living!
So true!
I love your honesty. I always find that pulling out my Bible or a religious book for that matter has been a great conversation starter. Especially with those who aren’t Christians. I’ve found it to be a subtle way to share his word without being that “in your face obnoxious Christian”
I couldn’t agree more.
Great message and timely since I’m flying to Denver today. I think it’s a cool idea. Rituals are helpful and looking forward to quiet time in our busy world seems the sane, not crazy thing to do. Christians to me are just like everyone else, good days and bad, ups and downs, but for those who don’t have much contact or had negative experiences with Christians the perception might be different. It is sort of interesting to see someone carrying a Bible alone in an airport or plane, or any public place makes me a bit curious. But unless the person has a terrible attitude or is very rude, I’m not the least offended. I admit I would give more grace to an offensive non-Christian than a rude Christian though. I’ll have to do some thinking about that during my quiet time on the plane tonight!
Enjoy your plane time. If you take any pictures, please post them on my Facebook page. I will post some that I have taken later this week. I love your honesty about being more willing to offer grace to an offensive Non-Christian than a Christian.
Thank you for your inspiring message. I’m thankful that I now have a Quiet Room where I can retreat to my “prayer chair”. There is a small table near it with Bible, devotional, prayer journal, etc. It is amazing that God actually wants to communicate with us and be our best friend!
I like how you have it all setup. I need to do that, so I don’t spend so much time getting up to get what I need. It has been suggested that I try and purchase an old airline seat since it works so well for me. Can’t you just see that one in my house?