A Meeting with Destiny

You would be surprised… but against the advice of others, I often talk to strangers! I see unique encounters with new people, as an avenue for the divine to intervene with the mundane. If not for the, otherwise random, introductions with strangers, I wouldn’t have had the invitation to Urumqi, Xinjiang (Northwest China), or a village 5 hours out of Guangzhou, praying with a new friends father, I wouldn’t have met a young soon-to-be international student, or her mother, who gave me my Chinese name, or been able to later welcome her to the States, where she recently graduated from school… I guess the list goes on…
and this time, I met Destiny. 

After one of the most challenging flying experiences of my life, I pushed myself into the cabin of the plane, with salty trails along my face, and got seated… right next to a wonderful new sister, Destiny. What are the odds I’d be seated next to a young Black woman, fellow educator, traveling solo to Rome, who also is a vegetarian?! I mean come on! The first thing she said to me was “you look like you need a hug!” Whew! She blessed my socks off. I told her then, she was a confirmation to my soul that everything was gonna be just fine (insert #EveryLittleThing Hillsong Young & Free).

She said that if I had given up when it got hard, I wouldn’t have had my meeting with Destiny! 

We both encouraged each other to step into our full purpose and be our true selves. I got to tell her all the cool secrets I’ve learned along the way, and introduced her to Limoncello! We not only met on the plane, but hung out at least 2 more times after that! She’s officially part of the family 🙂