Riza Fortuna

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” (NIV)

My trip to Mexico and US
this month has been marked with a variety of unwanted events ranging from
flight delays to air terror threats. Most if not at all times my first reaction
was to complain and worry. However, the grace to pray and have faith that God
is in control won over my natural tendencies, and I was blessed to still be confident
that all will be well in my entire half-month travel.

First there were the flight
delays. Five of eight flights I took during this trip were delayed. I felt I
tried all sorts of delays a traveler can ever experience. My first flight,  Manila to LA, was delayed
for two hours since there was a passenger who experienced hypertension and did
not have the necessary medication. Our plane had to go back to the gate so that
passenger can get off from the flight. My next flight, LA to Dallas, was also delayed for two hours since
the nose of the plane was hit by one of those moving equipment in the airport
and they had to check it to make sure it was safe to fly. The third flight was
a normal delay as I learned later that all flights from  Dallas
to  Mexico
are usually behind schedule. When I went from  Dallas
to Cincinnati coming from Mexico, I missed my flight not because I was
late (I was in fact at Dallas
airport 3 hours before my flight), but because they changed gates and I didn’t
know that they did. At that point I was really frustrated and disappointed.
However, I again was given the grace to accept the situation and move on right
away. So while waiting at the right gate for the next available flight to Cincinnati, I was writing
in my PDA the lessons I so far learned from this trip. One lesson was to check
the departure gate from time to time since they do change a lot. The champion
of all delays happened in my last leg of this trip, the LA to Manila
flight. I was just excited to go home when upon arrival at LA airport coming
from Dallas, I learned at the PAL counter upon checking in that my flight has been cancelled
due to maintenance issues  and I was booked at the next available flight which
was 14 hours later.  I was about to complain  again but I said to myself, well, I
might as well just enjoy a good night’s rest at the hotel that PAL arranged for
its passengers. And so I did. In all these, I had to wait, to be still, and to
turn the waiting time to productive moments either by getting a good rest,
reading books which content I can share with others, or interacting with people
who blessed me and I believed to have been blessed by me too.

When I arrived at Guanajuato airport in Leon, Mexico,  I was made to wait by the Immigration officers (all three of them)  since they
were looking intently at my Mexican visa. I was asking them if  there was a
problem and they just replied “no problema” and yet it took them so long to figure out
something in my visa until I was the last one to go out from the airport that
afternoon. That moment in  Mexico
I heard God saying “Be still, and know that I am God. I am in control,
you just have to sit down and wait.” So I did wait until
they all smiled to me and gave me my stamped passport.

I went to two cities in Mexico to visit
two production facilities of my company. The second one was near Mexico City   so we stayed
at a hotel there. Right in front of my hotel were the protesters of the recent
presidential elections in their camps. Just few days before I arrived, they
staged a big rally with two million people in attendance at Reforma, same place
where my hotel was. Good enough there was no longer a big crowd during my
visit. I anticipated a potential chaos in that area and so I prayed (and asked
some sisters to pray for me) that God prepares Mexico  for me and keep me safe
& trouble-free. Indeed I was!

In all my business meetings I
was always early and was the one or one of those who wait for the others before
we can start. But given all the waiting I have done at the airports, the
waiting at our  Mexico
and US offices for my meetings were small stuff. I cheerfully waited while
preparing for each of those meetings. All of them have been productive and much
blessed. Aside from being fruitful in the work at hand, I was also engaged in
building stronger relationships either purely work-related or personal among my
colleagues and superiors in our head office. My main contacts both in Mexico  and US
are Mexicans, so this trip was truly a Mexican experience.

As my meetings were about to
be completed in Cincinnati, there was this breaking news on discovering planned
air terror attacks in UK flights going to the US. One of the targeted airlines
is American Airlines which is my airline for my US and Mexico flights. One of the heavily guarded airports being a major one is LA where am
flying back to  Manila 
from. Somehow, I felt fear in my heart. Then I asked for prayers from sisters
and brothers. Then again I heard God saying “Be still, there is nothing to
worry about”. And so I went on with the rest of my trip as scheduled with peace
and confidence in my heart.

The last leg of my trip is
the best one. I dropped by Dallas, Texas on my way back to Manila from
Cincinnati to visit Rowena, a sister from Lingkod Alabang who married an
American based in Dallas, and my relatives from the mother side. Just like in
exercising where you have a “cool down” period, my trip to  Texas  for four days and three nights
was my
“cool down” from a long business trip. Yes, my business trips in Mexico and US
were productive which meant they entailed a lot of hard work on my part done of
course by the power of the Holy Spirit amidst all changes in time zones and
high expectations. Rowena was my primary host in Texas  and she took excellent care of me that
I felt I am truly a
blessed and privileged daughter of Father God who is ever
generous and nurturing. I got a much needed rest in Rowena’s house (with Jeff
her husband being very nice and accommodating himself) and in my cousin’s house
as well. If at home in Philippines
I only usually sleep for six hours maximum, I got to sleep for eight hours in Texas. Aside from
physical rest, I also got an emotional and spiritual re-charging as Rowena and I
kept talking about community and intercessory prayer, as well as I met my
relatives which include my Auntie Via and her husband Uncle Boy who are active
servants in Couples for Christ whose faith I see in the way they live their
life and raise their kids. My cousin Rommel who is next to me as eldest in our
mother side clan (and his wife Mau) was also such a warm companion with no dull moment at all when
we are together. The temperature of 40 degrees Celsius in Texas
which was the hottest I ever experienced in the US did not matter as the  warmth of
family & friends made an impact the most. I do call myself a servant but in
this Texas 
trip I was served and I welcomed it willingly. I believe the message I got
through our Lingkod Women’s Night prior to this trip that “we should be
generous to receive” was realized. 

At the end of this trip, my
heart bursts with gratitude to Father God who has been with me all along in
this trip and surrounded me with His angels to prepare the way for me, protect
me, and guide me. I am also more convicted that the series of challenging
events in this trip were meant to tell me God’s resounding message at this
point in my life, “Be still, and know that I am God”. Funny but He even let me
see these words in print at the end of this trip. I bought this DVD entitled
“Be Still and Know that I am God”. Also bought a book entitled “Even God
Rested” by Kim Thomas and as I started reading it in my homeward journey, the
first chapter mentioned this verse in verbatim since the author quoted NIV, the
same translation I am now using. Isn’t God so clear?

All unexpected events in my trip magnified God’s
presence and power in my life. What I was asked to do was to obey – to be still
and trust in the Lord. All glory
& praise be to God!