Frequent Flier Faith

My relationship with travel is similar to my relationship with Nutella: pure and unadulterated love. But when 2017 rolled in, travelling was not in my plans for the year. There were more pressing obligations and I dismissed the idea.

When my cousin asked me to go to NYC with her and her family, my immediate answer was "no". It was nowhere in my plans and so I said no and forgot about it to be honest. In April, God and I were talking and He told me that I would travel this year (not because I was 'good' or 'perfect' but simply because it was a desire of my heart). My first question was, "how is this even possible?" I hadn't even made any provisions for travel! I just put the thought out of my mind, maybe I had misheard. When my cousin asked again a couple of months later, I was even more sure that I couldn't afford to go anywhere. But God!

A few days before my cousin was going to book her ticket, I received a cheque I was owed. I still had no intention of travelling though. I thought about the many more important and practical things I could do with the money and the thought of spending it on something as unnecessary as a vacation seemed somehow irresponsible to me but after much prayer and thought, I decided to buy the ticket. The rest is history.

One amazing vacation later, I have learned that when God says a thing or when He makes a promise, that thing is sure, it is as real as the sun before it rises. We may not be able to see the physical manifestation as yet but believe me, it's coming. God cannot lie.

My faith was weak because even though I saw how He provided for my ticket, I still worried about money, not realizing what a small thing it was for Him. The problem was not His promise or His willingness to give, the problem was my willingness to believe it.

I was speaking with a relative earlier this week and she said something simple yet so thought-provoking. She said that God is oftentimes more willing to give than we are willing to ask of Him. This is so true! Despite my doubts and worry, God provided for me, because for Him, it's an easy thing. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills! If only we were more willing to ask of Him, I believe that we would have much more than we do.

The second thing I learned was that no matter what God tells you to do, no matter what direction He leads you in, if He leads you to it, He will lead you through it. If he has called you to do something, He will certainly provide. It gives Him such joy when we, as His children, believe Him and trust His heart for us. The money is nothing to Him but He wants us to have faith.

Because of God and His favour, I was able to enjoy two weeks of relaxation and carefree living in New York. Those days were filled with laughter, wonder, sight-seeing and a whole host of new experiences. Before I get there though, let me tell you about my Dad!

So we got to New York and our apartment wasn't ready for us. It was late, we were all tired and just wanted to sleep but we waited and kept our cool and do you know that we ended up not having to pay for accommodation at all!? We got two weeks' accommodation completely free!! You can't tell me God ain't real!

Now onto my trip! My trip consisted of mall runs, amusement parks, Starbucks, Manhattan, Red Lobster's Endless Shrimp and wayyy too many Hershey Sundae Pies. Not to mention copious dollops of Nutella and hours of binge watching 'Jane the Virgin'.

I thought I could hang! Red Lobster proved me wrong!

I was feelin' myself.

BBQ in Manhattan. Wings, wings and more wings!

An accurate representation of me after my holiday.

After all of that, I've come to the conclusion that everyone should see the New York skyline at night at least once! Pictures do not do it justice. It's one of theee most mesmerizing things I've ever seen.

And the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which leads to Staten Island is a sight to behold when lit.

Everything was fantastic until the second last day of my holiday when a severe, sharp yet dull (don't ask) pain started from my jaw and shot straight to my eye and temple. This pain was easily the worst I've experienced in my life. I literally couldn't think straight. I started popping pills like it was nobody's business and they did next to nothing to stop the pain. When that didn't work, I pierced an Advil capsule and applied it to the area. That worked for all of 15 minutes at a time. It was excruciating! After a day of pain, I found myself asking God why. Why here? Why now? His answer was clear as day!

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (1 Peter 1:7 NLT)

I meditated on this verse and let it take root. I said "God, I'll praise you in spite of my pain. You are still good!" I prayed and asked God to take the pain away. Nothing happened right then but I was able to fall asleep. When I woke up, there was no pain. I felt normal again!

I was pain-free until afternoon...then it was WWE, Riana vs. Wisdom Tooth and I was losing miserably. The pain was so bad all I could do was cry. I couldn't sit still so I took a walk and prayed in the Spirit. A short while after, the pain went away and it didn't come back. I was able to enjoy our drive to Manhattan that night and to take in the bustling activity of Times Square.

I remained pain-free and was able to see a dentist when I returned home. God is so good! If He's told you something, He's more than able to do it and no matter what happens along the way, remember that your ultimate goal is to please Him and to be transformed into His image. Everything we go through is to that end. When trials come, they're to strengthen us and take us from faith to faith and glory to glory.

The love of God toward us is incomprehensible but I am oh so glad that He does! When I think about the fact that we are owed nothing but He chooses to lavish His love on us anyway!? What an awesome God!

P.S. Pray for me y'all! I gotta get this tooth pulled next week :'(

#faith #Jesus #faithfulness #vacation #newyork #God #JesusChrist