--MYSTERIOUS WAYS~~

---MORE THAN COINCIDENCE~~

--"NOW BOARDING Flight Eighty-seven to New York." I grabbed my carry-on and joined the other passengers by the gate at London''s Heathrow Airport. All around me, couples and families laughed and chatted, relaxed and carefree after their summer vacations in Europe. Was I the only one worrying about what waited back home? I'd cut my trip short, left my brother and my grandmother on a cruise so I could figure my life out.

"Are you sure you want to leave early?" Grandma had asked me. My brother and I had accompanied her on a transatlantic voyage to Sweden, her parents' homeland. But my mind stayed stuck in Lawrence, Kansas. I was 21 years old, about to graduate from the University of Kansas with a degree in education and get married. What worried me was--what happened after that? All my classmates had jobs lined up, their plans set. Not me. My fiance' and I wanted to stay in Lawrence, but I'd struck out on finding a student-teaching position there. The thought of moving and starting our life together somewhere unfamiliar stressed me out.

"I'm sorry, Grandma," I said. I'd decided while we were in Sweden that she and my brother would go home on the ship as planned. I'd cash in my return ticket and take the first plane back to Kansas. My flight would go from London to New York and then to Kansas City--more than 16 hours of travel--but I'd be home soon enough to plead my case at every school in Lawrence before classes started. Grandma was disappointed, but she understood.

I made my way down the airplane aisle and found my seat, next to an older woman. "Enjoy your trips, dear?" she asked.

I forced a smile. "It was great. Just anxious to get back home," I said.

"Where's home?"

Good question. "Lawrence, Kansas...for now." My seatmate laughed. "What a coincidence! That's where I'm going."

She was a good listener. Before I knew it, I'd told her what I was studying, my plans and prayers for the future. I finally stopped talking and she put her hand on mine. "I think I can help," she said.

"How?"
"Well, dear, I teach public school in Lawrence. And I've been looking for a student teacher."~~

--Laurie Burgess
--GUIDEPOSTS/Aug 2016
-"With God all things are possible."---(Matthew 19:26)