Well he did it! Our son traveled across the U.S. and Pacific Ocean to begin his new adventure in a foreign land. The journey took more than eighteen hours including a layover, and since Tokyo is fourteen hours ahead of us in Cincinnati, the expedition included real life time travel. Ben departed the CVG airport at 8:30 a.m. on January 8th and landed in Japan at 4:30 p.m. January 9th. How crazy is that!
Our final hug goodbye was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I spent the better half of the day in tears, nursing my broken heart. This experience has been even harder than our daughter getting married. At least when she moved out we were still able to visit and talk on the phone. Not so with Ben. He is thousands of miles away without a working cell phone. We will only be able to connect with our son through Internet… and those opportunities will be few and far between.
As he packed his last minute belongings, Ben received an email saying his original flight was cancelled.
Seriously?
This unwelcome news added anxiety into an already stressful situation. We learned that the new flight would arrive in Tokyo an hour and a half later than the original flight. The result of Ben’s later flight meant that he would be on his own when he arrived in Tokyo; there would be no one from the school to meet him and take him to his dorm building. After printing a lengthy list of instructions that would (hopefully) get him to his end destination, Ben resolved to go with the flow and make the best of it.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Sometimes life throws us a lemon and when it does, we have a choice. We can either allow the lemon sour our attitude, or we can squeeze every last drop of opportunity and make lemonade.
I am already seeing growth and maturity in our son through this experience. I know God will continue to watch over Ben and direct his steps day by day.
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” (Psalm 91:11)
“Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21)
With each new challenge that comes our way, may we see it as an opportunity to live faith-filled lives .
