Susan Lafferty“Of all the places you’ve lived, which one is your favorite?”
It was a casual conversation and a question I’ve been asked many times. Impossible to answer.
So I said the usual: “There’s something special about each one.”
But over the next days I reflected on the significance of place in our lives. What is it that lodges a certain location in our hearts and minds?
And I began to notice place in God’s Word.
Exiles in Babylon.
God’s Word to them felt deeply personal to us. During a particularly violent and unsettling season.
People were leaving our city. Families sent back to their home countries. Anti-American sentiment had ramped up more than ever.
Should we leave?
At one point my dad—who never, ever tried to interfere or direct us in any way—wrote “In my daily Bible study I keep seeing the words, ‘Flee Babylon…flee Babylon.” (Jeremiah 49:30; 50:8,16; 51:6)
The young man apologizes as we get up to let him through to his window seat. We have a long flight ahead. Fourteen hours or so.
Beforehand, I’ve asked for a heart attentive to His prompting. And for willing availability, boldness to share the gospel.
It’s not my first thought on airplanes lately, to be honest. I’d rather chill in my own little world. Enjoy the extended “pause” from daily tasks.
But as he’s seated, I pray for wisdom. To listen and obey.
