gate agent, who was probably wondering why a prayer meeting
had just sprung up at his counter. So in my usual
conversational manner, I began to pray for Diane—out loud.
“Lord, be with Diane. Relieve her fears. You know how she’s
hurting. Please speak to her about her father, this trip, and her
family. Be with her. Let her know that she’s not alone. Thank
you, Lord, for being with us during these times of sadness and
pain. We love you. Amen.”
I looked up and saw a genuine peace had come over Diane’s
face. She couldn’t stop saying, “Thank you so much. Thank
you so much. Thank you so much.”
We boarded the plane shortly after our “boarding gate”
prayer and didn’t see each other again until a few hours later
when she accidentally brushed my shoulder on her way back
to the lavatory. I looked up just as she looked down; we were
both surprised. She burst into a smile. Then she quickly bent
down and whispered in my ear, “I’m not alone.”
The first reason God talks to you is because
He loves you.
God loves you so much that He is willing to reach into your
heart with words of hope.
The death of a loved one, especially a parent, has the
capacity to make time stand still like few other experiences.
My father, a typical midwestern blue-collar worker for most
of his adult life, was a fun-loving, gentle man. Admirably, he
was married fifty years to my mother and very content with
very little. From childhood, though, he indulged in tobacco. His