An Experience

A few months ago, I was on a plane heading to back home to Michigan to visit my family. It was a time of great personal turmoil for me. I was making difficult life choices, and wasn't sure if they were the right ones. A few months earlier, I had begun putting greater emphasis on spiritual development, and had started a daily regimen of prayer and meditation. While these practices helped to calm and focus me during these tumultuous times, I was still feeling lonely, frustrated, and unsure of myself. I sat fidgeting in my seat, by turns staring out the window and thumbing through a Bible. About halfway through the flight, the flight attendant approached me with a book in her hand.

"I don't know why," she said, "but I feel like I need to show you this." She opened the book to a particular page and handed it to me, then quickly hurried away down the aisle.

I looked at the book. It was a daily devotional. Each page featured a different section of scripture, with some comments beneath it. This particular passage was from the Book of Revelation - the Letter to the Church of Philadelphia. I read:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

When I read the words, I was amazed and almost moved to tears. The passage couldn't have been more appropriate if an angel had stood next to me and spoken the words. The "open door," I knew, was a reference to the prayer and meditation practices I had recently begun. As for the last sentence, it gave me profound encouragement. "I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Although I was mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted, I had tried to be true to the ideal of Christ. His example, in fact, was the light that guided me through those dark days. And here was the acknowledgement that my efforts were not in vain; they were witnessed by God, and here was His word to comfort me in my time of distress.

When the stewardess came by again, I handed her the book back and thanked her. She was too busy to talk, although I wished later that I could have told her the significance of her simple act.

These are the sorts of occurances that await those who follow Christ's ideals and seek to grow spiritually through prayer, meditation, and service. A door will be opened for you which no one can shut. For me, it was profound event - one which I will never forget.