Arrived Safely

“Arrived Safely…”  This was the message that I was able to send to my wife and family that I had arrived at my destination safely.  My destination?  Mount Hope in Abaco, The Bahamas.  I am here for the week to teach “Leadership” in the Bahamas Bible Institute, a seven years partnership between CBF of Florida and CBF of The Bahamas. (Yea, I know, “tough assignment.”  But, somebody’s gotta do it!)

The rest of my message, however, expressed some “trying times” ahead: “…luggage has not.”  Only one other time in my seven years of extensive travel around the Caribbean for Fellowship Baptists has my luggage taken a different trip than me.  The last time I went to San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) and three days later my suitcase caught up with me after going to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO).  Unfortunately, I was not awarded its frequent flier miles nor reimbursed for expenses I incurred to have clothes presentable for the Baptist meetings I attended.

I take for granted the pleasures of daily rituals that were going to be a challenge without certain items not in my possession.  Toothbrush? No. Medicines? No. Clean clothes? Uh-uh.  I wasn’t too stressed at the moment.  I was (almost) confident that I would once again be reunited with my things.  I did have with me my notes and items for the four nights of teaching.  I had spent the better part of two weeks reading, studying and preparing and I was not going to part with them.  However I wasn’t encouraged by the airline agent who looked at my claim check and declared it was not theirs.  What?  Wait!  It was YOUR airline agent in Orlando who put the matching tag on my bag!

My host, Rev. John McIntosh, is well-known throughout the Abaco Island.  He made a quick call to Marsh Harbor, the next stop for the island-hopper which left me at Treasure Key, and the search began.  It wasn’t there or on my plane.  It had been left in Nassau and would be on the next plane over…tomorrow!  The good news arrived the following day and my body was soon refreshed with its contents.

Isn’t this typical of how we go about life?  We entrust our worldly possessions to complete strangers in hopes that promises will be fulfilled.  And most of the time we are not disappointed.  However, we tend to do similar with our spiritual lives—entrust it to others to get ‘r done for us: preachers, teachers, deacons, leaders in the church.  But if I am to be a follower of Christ, I need to keep those precious items close and in my own possession, opening up only to the One who gave all and desires my daily contact.  My growth in spiritual matters is no one’s responsibility or fault but my own.

Prayer: Loving and gracious God, thank you for loving me, in spite of me and for bringing me back to You, when I entrust my relationship with You to someone else.