Can we change our flight to the day before we plan to fly out?
We asked ourselves this question as we sat at the AFM offices in Michigan. Gabe’s father, Andrew, had been battling cancer for 2 1/2 months. We had already purchased tickets to fly to Orlando that Sunday morning to be with Andrew since he would be turning 76 that day, and we had planned a birthday celebration for him. Something told us to change our flight and leave Sabbath morning instead of Sunday, so we called the airline on Friday and held our breath to hear how much we would have to pay to change our flight.
To my surprise, the lady on the other end of the phone said we bought flex tickets (which we never do) and would only have to pay the $176 difference. So we quickly packed our bags and arranged for an early ride to the airport to fly out at 6:00 a.m. on Sabbath
When we arrived at Gabe’s parents’ home, we found his father very weak but still communicating. It seemed as if he was just waiting for us to arrive. Gabe was able to spend some precious hours with his father before he passed that evening, just a couple of hours shy of his 76th birthday. Had we ignored that still, small voice and kept our Sunday morning flight, we would have missed seeing his father alive.
Gabe asked his father to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior after a long life of searching for answers in other religions and theologies. Like the thief on the cross, his father accepted Jesus just hours before passing. We have hope we will see him again in heaven.
That Sabbath, his father just kept asking Gabe to pray for him over and over again, as if he knew he was coming to the end of his life. Gabe’s father had loved to read and always had a book in his hand. The last book he was reading was “Gone With the Wind” which seems so poignant as we think of Psalm 144:4 (GNT), which says, “We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a passing shadow.” These past few months have reminded us that tomorrow is not guaranteed so we should be zealous to share Jesus with others and let us hold tight to the days we have with our loved ones.
