Where is it? I felt along my right side for the little black purse, and it wasn’t hanging there! My heart leaped in terror. Where could it be? I had attended the Christian Bookseller’s Association Convention and was now returning home to Texas. Traveling alone in the Orlando International Airport gate area, I hurried to the Disney store to buy an item for my granddaughter when I discovered the missing accessory. Yikes! I had retrieved my attaché case at Security but not my purse. I wondered…. Will I ever see it again? My credit card, driver’s license, a few dollars?
With a pounding pulse, a sickening emptiness, and silent prayers, I ran to catch the people-mover for a ride back to the main airport lobby but accidentally boarded the wrong one that took me to the opposite side of the huge lobby. So, I rode back to the gate area, and found the correct people-mover to my original Security check point—all the time thinking… It will be a miracle if my purse is still there.
When I arrived at Security, I asked the female attendant standing by a desk if she had found a small, black purse. Without hesitating, she reached in a drawer, asked my name, pulled out and opened my purse, examined the drivers’ license, looked at me, and said, “This looks like you. Here’s your purse.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
The plane now boarding, I stepped onto the correct people-mover and raced to the gate. When I finally took a middle seat with a sigh of relief, I thanked the Lord that I actually made the flight. A distinguished white-haired gentleman on my left introduced himself as the consultant for Word of Life Press, responsible for selecting materials for Christian publishing in Korea. We engaged in a lively conversation, and he expressed interest in what I had brought to CBA. Imagine our thrill several months later when my “Hen Friends” and I were notified that our Courage for the Chicken-Hearted books were being translated and published in Korean.
The Romans 8:28 verse came to mind as I reflected on all my boo-boos that day. It reminded me that when we love God, we can make the best of all He does, because we want to fit into His plans, fulfill His gracious purposes, and become more like Christ. It is a privilege to serve a loving and compassionate God who is for us. Either directly or indirectly He can use providential events for our spiritual growth and for His glory. Just as varied ingredients of a medication work together for the intended result, the word of God, the Holy Spirit, our own experiences, and the testimonies of other believers, prove that God does work all things together for good when we love Him and want to fulfill His goals. Sometimes the benefit is realized with temporal blessings (like finding my purse), and/or spiritual and eternal excellence. Perhaps through the Scriptures in our books someone in Korea will be drawn closer to God and be introduced to Jesus, our Savior. Through new believers, God’s Kingdom will be expanded.
I had never lost my purse before and haven’t since but when I think about that incident, it reminds me that God is in charge. He allows divine appointments and causes all things to work together for good if we love Him. He can even turn our blunders into blessings.