mission_351

Mission # 351 today was to be from Kansas to North Carolina… well, at least that is what we had planned as we began our day. By about midmorning we realized that the thunderstorms over Kansas were going nowhere fast. We would have to postpone this flight ….today …is not the day to fly into Kansas. 

Well, now what? 

Here we are, all ready to go, plane is fueled, all necessary equipment has been loaded and we are dressed in our flight suits. OK! So, can we change some things around for another flight? Get the necessary documents needed? Contact the appropriate people to put this together? We will give it a whirl and see what happens. It is beginning to look as though we will not be flying at all today but instead it will be a day in the office.

I cannot speak for anyone else but I realize that I, myself, have planned my day without asking God first what He wanted me to do. Don’t get me wrong, I had my morning devotion and prayer time but I continued on to plan my own day. This really tugged at my heart this morning so, I stepped into the quietness of the crew room to stop and give “today” to God. I confessed that it was not my own, but a gift that He had given me and that I needed to give it back to Him. This ministry belongs to Him and it is only by His grace that it continues to function. Each and every one of us involved at GOW are human and we can and do forget just like other believers to stop and yield to His will. Today, I needed to be reminded of this, if He wanted us to serve a family today He would orchestrate whatever was necessary, otherwise we would have a productive day in the office.

I am always amazed at what a sense of peace I get when I stop and remember who is in control.

It looks like today we will be flying a gentleman from Indy to Charleston, a flight that we had thought we were going to do tomorrow. God is so good it is by His grace that everything has fallen into place and allowed us to serve this family. PSALM 46:19 BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Mike is a 67 yr. old gentleman who has become a paraplegic as result of a fall from a ladder. His daughter Raquel is an orthopedic nurse who lives in Charleston and she wants him closer to her so that she can care for him. We arrive at the sending facility here in Indy to do our bedside assessment. Mike still has a tracheostomy and his speech is very soft but he is happy and surprised to see us, as he thought he was not leaving until tomorrow. Many last minute changes have been made to make this flight happen. Raquel arrives at his bedside and she is so excited and grateful that he is going to be closer to her. 

She is not at all upset about the last minute changes. She is so bubbly and her smile is radiating so brightly I jokingly commented to her, that I believe we could fly right through the storms in Kansas if we put her on board. She was a ray of sunshine. She kisses her dad goodbye and tells him she will see him in Charleston soon.

We board Nellie after praying for Mike’s continued recovery and safe travel. During take off he asks if we can pull the curtain back so he can see out the window. He seemed to enjoy the flight as he rested occasionally in between watching the clouds float by during the flight. Once on the ground we told him he was home. He smiled and in his soft voice said, “my new home.”

Once we had him tucked in to his new room we joined hands and thanked our Almighty Lord and Savior for this day, travel safety, Mike and the new staff that would be caring for him. How many times a day do we change our minds? We can be so indecisive and wishy washy. 1 SAMUEL 15:29 HE WHO IS THE GLORY OF ISRAEL DOES NOT LIE OR CHANGE HIS MIND; FOR HE IS NOT A HUMAN BEING; THAT HE SHOULD CHANGE HIS MIND. So often we want to be in control of everything; circumstances, timing, and especially the outcome. 

In reality as much as we would like to think we have this power, we do not. God does give us the free will to make choices but, have no doubt, He already knows what those choices will be. Each one comes with reward or consequences. PSALM 94::11 THE LORD KNOWS ALL HUMAN PLANS; HE KNOWS THAT THEY ARE FUTILE. For me, today was a good reminder of these things. Too often it seems like I need to be reminded. How about yourself? Praise the Lord we serve a merciful God. I ask you to stop whatever you are doing right this minute and give this day back to God. Ask Him what He wants you to do with it.

Thank you to Hal, Chet, Lisa and Chris for sharing this mission with me.

LUKE 1:50 HIS MERCY EXTENDS TO THOSE WHO FEAR HIM, FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.

Many Blessings, Shelli RN