He Is There

As I said, last week, we were gone for a week in London, England. We were dropping off our eldest for a Bible school over there.

I wasn’t sure about the whole traveling out of the country thing. I’ve never been out of the country before. Never owned a passport. So the thought of traveling excited me and overwhelmed me at the same time. I got a travel book on how to travel in England. It listed the hazards about traveling, just so you were in the know. The book said to keep your valuables at home and leave your wallet and purse behind. Use a neck wallet or a waist pouch, that you hide under your clothes. Pick pocketing was an issue in London at some of the popular tourists sites. I had to get a number from my bank, in case my credit card or debit card were lost or stolen. My mind buzzed on all these potential problems. You see, it’s one thing to lose important cards here in the good ole USA. It’s quite another, to lose them in another country, where you would have to wait and figure out what to do.

So I prayed. I started praying at least a year before we actually left. I prayed for our safety in traveling. I prayed for our protection from thieves. I prayed that my daughter would adjust well at the new school. It’s not like she can call us up and tell us to come get her. If you are a believer, you need to pray for everything in your life. God tells us to. The Apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing.

I’m happy to report, that our trip went fine. We returned to the good ole USA, all in one piece. We were never robbed and my daughter has adjusted swimmingly at her new school.

But I wanted to brag on God in this post, and tell you what He did, while we were traveling. He not only protected us, but He sent reminders throughout our trip that He was there and He was watching over us.

London is a crazy, fast city. Think New York City on steroids. We stayed close to a station that had the underground there, the train station and a bus station. The place was like Grand Central Station in New York City. We had to catch the underground from there. You had to walk quickly or get run over my someone or at least get your toes squished by a rolling suitcase. People’s heads were down, walking so fast they might have been running, but they weren’t. Nobody is friendly. They haven’t got time. As rookie travelers, we just learned to keep out of the way and try not to go too slow.

It was our second our third day of our adventure, when we were standing on the escalator to go down to the underground. My husband and I were talking about which tube to take, as we weren’t sure. All of a sudden, this young English woman, in front of us, turned around and asked us where we needed to go. She pulled us aside, so we wouldn’t get run over by the fast moving travelers, and helped us with our map. She took time out of her busy day to talk to three overwhelmed Americans and help guide them. I believe she was an angel.

My family are gluten free and dairy free. It makes traveling somewhat difficult, trying to find food we can all eat. My daughter wanted to go to this one place, so we took the underground there. As we got out of the station, there in front of us were a bunch of stands selling food. Out of curiosity, we checked out what they were selling. Gluten free bread, gluten free baked brownies and cookies. Gluten free egg and potato slices (like pizza, but made with eggs and potatoes and a little sausage thrown in). We ate to our heart’s content. The prices were fairly cheap for London standards and everything tasted so good.

Our last day there, my husband and I went to St. James Park to just sit and enjoy the sunshine that had finally come out. We had just dropped off our daughter at the bus station to take her to school. As we sat on my husband’s coat, I looked up at this leafless tree that stood in front of us. There in one of it’s branches was a lone, white dove. He positioned himself, so he was looking down at us. I elbowed my husband and pointed to him. Then the dove, flew down, near us and walked around us. There wasn’t anything for him, but he walked around, unafraid, reminding me just who was in charge of this whole trip. I smiled at him and thanked God in my head.

God loves His children. He says that in His word over and over. He protects us. He guides us. He encourages us. All we need to do is pray. Pray for everything. Pray for the little things. Then, watch what God does in your life. And watch for those reminders, He sends you, to tell you, He is there, and He is watching and working.