A few years ago, I spent two weeks with my sister and her husband in China. It was an active, adventurous trip that included visits to several famous cities and sites. The day before I was to return home, I heard something pop in my back as I got out of a chair. It was quite painful, and my ability to move was severely limited. This persisted through that day and into the evening.
As I lay in bed that night, hardly able to turn over, I thought about the obstacles facing me the next day. I had to finish packing four suitcases and take them with me in a car trip to the coast. Then I had to board a ferry for a two-hour trip across the bay to Hong Kong, where I would spend the night in a hotel, then maneuver my way through the Hong Kong airport and onto a plane—all the while managing the suitcases. My sister would accompany me to Hong Kong, but from there she would board a different airplane to a different destination. Given my physical condition, this trip seemed impossible.
I reached out to God for guidance and immediately a flood of thoughts came to me. One was a passage from the Bible: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. . . . For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace" (lsa. 55:8, 12). What a precious promise! I realized that, even though I was halfway around the world from home, I wasn't cut off from the Love that is God. In fact, I was in the presence of God, and I knew I could rely on Him to take me through this experience with loving care. I went to sleep feeling calm and grateful for God's tender love.
