Anxious is an apt term for how I felt recently.
Jerry and I received an invitation to an event in a part of the country we used to visit frequently. The occasion is pleasant and will take place later this year. Right away, we both said, “Yes, let’s try to get there.”
I put on my travel planning hat. I priced flights, rental vans, hotels, and a Hoyer lift rental. I made a budget. We sought the counsel of friends and prayed. Ultimately, we decided to make the trip.
That’s when anxiety kicked in. But why? We’re seasoned travelers. Flights, cruises, trains, rental vehicles and equipment, we’ve used them all. My typical mode is to be overconfident and to feel in control of these details.
But two things had changed. These are our first flights together in the post-Covid world. Everything about the booking, getting seats, and handling disability felt strange.
This is also the first time we’ll travel since Jerry’s accident earlier this year. Knowing his bones still need many months to complete the healing process, I wondered if I could help him safely. Particularly with transfer on and off the planes.
Back and forth our conversations went. Until Jerry said, “I wonder if Kevin could go with us?”
“Please text him and ask. That’s a great idea.”
Almost immediately, Jerry got confirmation that our friend is available to travel with us. In fact, Kevin was supposed to be out of the country that week, but his travel plans changed. If we’d asked sooner, he would’ve said no. I felt immediate relief!
We’ll have help to carry Jerry on to the plane and get him positioned correctly. An extra driver and set of hands with setting up the hotel room will be a tremendous benefit for me.
Over the next several hours, I repeated three or four times, “I feel relieved and more confident about this trip. I no longer feel anxious.”
I feel a great sense of relief knowing I won’t be alone in figuring out the physical aspects of the trip. I hate to admit I need help, but transfers, hotel variables, all become harder to manage as Jerry and I both grow older. I know having a traveling companion does not mean there won’t be tough spots on the trip.
Then it struck me. This is a skin-on example of the Holy Spirit. I am never alone in any aspect of my life because the Holy Spirit lives within me. He is the deposit Jesus promised us. Because I don’t see the Spirit, I sometimes forget he is with me.
I am grateful for Kevin’s commitment to help, and his family’s willingness to share him. I’m thankful for the reminder about the Spirit’s journey through life with me.
Thank you, God, for your gift of friends. And thank you for your presence through the Spirit in my life moment to moment. Remind me to keep my trust focused on you.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8 (NKJV)