Traveling can present some very interesting situations. Sometimes it is smooth as silk…other times, not so much. Weather, missed flight connections, equipment failure can all contribute to travel nightmares.

Returning from Honduras in January 2022 we experienced a series of problems. It was an adventure to say the least. As we left San Pedro Sula there was no way to envision what was ahead.

When we got to Atlanta, they were experiencing downdrafts so no aircraft were allowed to land. We circled the airfield for an extended period of time till finally the captain came on the intercom to announce we were heading to Augusta Georgia. We were running out of fuel.

When we arrived in Augusta, two other planes came in behind us. We sat on the plane about three hours. Waiting. Our crew had worked their maximum number of hours, so we had to wait for a new crew. Finally we deplaned. But, because we were an international flight, and there was no one to process us, they had put up a rope to corral us in place. They ordered pizza for us but it didn’t get there till around midnight.

Finally we boarded our plane with a new crew and headed back to Atlanta. It was about 5:00 in the morning. (We had left Honduras about 1:00 pm the previous day.) There had been so many flights delayed, the rebooking line was long, long, long. So we decided to rent a van and drive home.

When we got to the rental car place, again there was a long line. The agent was so cross. He loudly announced there were only 5 vehicles left to rent and if you had not rented a vehicle the day before, there was no vehicle for you. Now we had to try to rebook flights online. Previously, the airline website had crashed because so many people were trying to rebook.

Finally, we got flights and decided to go back to the terminal, get breakfast, and wait. When we got outside, it was freezing. No shuttle bus came. We waited. Then, it seemed out of nowhere, there appeared this tall airport employee. There was glass all around where we were waiting. We could see for a long distance…we had not seen him coming…but there he was where no one had been just a moment before.

I asked him about the shuttle buses. He said we needed to take the elevator to the top floor and ride the train. He went with us. When we got to the top, one of the ladies had left her suitcase back downstairs! (That’s what sleep deprivation can do to you.) So she and the airport worker went back for the suitcase. He clearly told us to stay put. They returned and when the train arrived we all got on and headed back to the terminal.

Our airport angel went with us to the check in line and made sure we were safely delivered. We turned around and he was gone…as suddenly as he had appeared.
Now skeptics will scoff at our story. Believers will nod and remember their own encounters with “angels.” But we were certain that on that cold January day, Abba God sent us an angel (angelic or human, it matters not) to help our tired, hungry selves get safely where we needed to be.

It was one more reminder that our Abba protects us…loves us…and directs our paths.