I have a Friend who lives inside my heart. That may sound weird, but imagine a friend who is always there! I believe in my Friend.
On the morning of June 13, 2006, I woke up to the commotion of my sisters yakking at me to wake up in a hostel in Vienna, Austria. It was around 4:30 in the morning and we had to be at the train station by six.
We made it to the west train station with plenty of time to make it on the train. What we didn’t know was that it took twenty-five-minutes to go from the west train station to the south train station.
Twenty-five-minutes usually would not be so bad; however, the train that departed for Venice left at 6:30AM. We had five-minutes to find our train in the biggest train station in Vienna. “Good luck,” we muttered sarcastically to each other as we stepped off the train.
The train stopped. With thirty-pound backpacks, we made a mad-dash for anywhere but the place we just arrived! We looked briefly at signs along the way to see where we needed to go to make our Venice train—nothing.
We reached the top floor with one-minute left before the Venice train departed. We finally found a sign telling us the location of the train.
We made eye contact with the conductor as he was about to step on-board and wave to the engineer. He chuckled when he saw us running and stepped back down. With a sigh of relief, we climbed on-board to look for our seats. When the last foot left the ground, the conductors signaled the engineer to indicate that the train was ready to go and all passengers were on-board.
You might ask, “What did you learn from that? Simple events occasionally get crazy and suspenseful sometimes?”
I learned that no matter what is happening or has happened, God is always right beside me and is in control. I just could not fathom the fact that the entire week I had my Bible in my backpack waiting to be read, so that I could spend time with my Friend; but I put it off because I was too tired. God, however, continued to show me His mercy by allowing us to make train after train.
I find it amazing to see how God is continually in control and shows mercy on us, even in those instances that seem so minute. In our haste to locate the right signs, the right path, and the actual destination, God was directing us all along. We often plot the path, but God directs our steps. God is the Friend who I couldn’t live without and whom I all too often don’t recognize. I wish I had spent more time with my Friend. I believe He lives inside my heart and is ready to show His mercy—even when I become more self-focused and unfriendly.