January 18th, 2021.
My flight departed an hour ago from Greensboro, NC and is currently high up in the sky.
Atlanta is the only connecting flight and then it is the final haul across the ocean.
Long layovers aren’t usually my thing, but 3 hours in ATL and its metropolitan monotony doesn’t sound half shabby this time.
London is far from home.
I’ve driven cross country twice, lived solo in LA’s metropolitan dome , adapted quickly to navigating things on my own, but swapping countries and cultures has felt much more challenging in some aspects.
Trading countries for 3+ months therefore makes a 3 hour layover bring a sense of ease…a large portion of time to pre-gather oneself for everything to follow: Immigration, customs, public transport, praying the international cell service works, Covid19’s ever changing chaos on top, finding my way when not a soul knows me or my name.
I booked my Airbnb to 5 day quarantine + Covid test well in advance.
The idea of a random nurse and a healthcare system I don’t entirely trust and a nasal swab…don’t exactly bring great peace.
…But an assumedly negative Covid swab far outweighs breaking the bank just for 14 days of “isolation”.
I checked and triple checked the necessities and otherwise overlooked “minor” necessities: Finding an adapter since the USA and UK have different plugins, cancelling car insurance, sending notices to colleagues and clients, stashing every last dollar in my savings account just in case.
Since October, I’ve researched and cyber stalked and prepared and saved every nickel and dime for this.
I’ve anticipated the 16 other bros/sisters I’d connect with from all over the globe.
I’ve anticipated the high hopes for meeting a long lost cousin in Paris.
I’ve anticipated the high hopes for meeting a once annoying Insta-debater turned dear friend, after a year of conversing and WhatsApp shpilling and connecting and the greatest of soul chats.
…Because #WhenInEurope, right?
Finally, after a year of almosts, this anticipated 1 way flight to England is happening.
But here’s the catch:
I’m not on that flight.
I was supposed to be, but I am not.
My seat is either empty or occupied by someone else.
A flight full of people will reach Heathrow Airport at 8AM tomorrow morning, but I will not be with them.
In two week’s time, a Coronavirus mutation infested the UK, borders closed, and I no sooner finalized my trip than I found myself hitting the Refund and Cancel tabs.
Let me tell you: That was hard.
2019 was hard.
2020 was harder.
2021 has felt a bit like salt in a wound.
The sweet relief of this escape and opportunity gave great hope to my weary heart.
I got all kinds of funny looks.
The UK? Really? Couldn’t you study apologetics elsewhere? Shouldn’t you just settle down already?
There were several times I willingly almost cancelled this trip.
But I made a personal pact that as long as God kept clearing the way, I would go.
Even amidst the uncertainty and Covid19 and political tension with Brexit and possibly picking the absolute most inconvenient of times to go…I would still go.
I prayed for God to make it evidently known if I should hold back – like closing the UK borders, for example.
Unless that happened or my study term was cancelled, I would move forward trusting in Him as my refuge, even if it seemed humanly ridiculous or people voiced their skepticism.
I decided I would much rather seem like a sojourning fool if that meant being obedient to the wild ride God seemed to have opened up.
We have one shot at life, so…
…Sojourning Fool it is.
And sometimes, I think that is the greater call than the preconceived outcome itself.
When God clears the way, you say “YES”, and you go.
Obedience.
Even if you don’t have every single answer in a strategic timeline in front of you.
Even if it brushes Western culture junkies the wrong way.
Even if there are some gaps.
Even if it brings a nervous sensation to your stomach.
Even if the redeeming outcome you had in mind takes a plot twist.
Obedience.
Wen God clears the way, say “YES”, and go.
If the way remains cleared, keep moving forward and do not straggle behind.
If the way closes off and reroutes you, do not count it a curse, but a gift.
If you find yourself in the peculiar middle of both (as I currently do), unsure how to make peace with the loss, remember the simple yet profound words of Eli: