Friends on a plane

Had an amazing time yesterday meeting a new friend and spending some time with some old friends. Normally I am not one to carry on much of a conversation with the people I meet on the plane. A general hello and why are you heading to such and such place. After that I usually try to get in some reading time or listen to the latest tunes on my IPod. Yesterday was totally different for me. The plane was filled to capacity so I knew that I would be sitting by someone on the flight and was hoping it wasn't the 400 pound person that would take up part of my seat as well. (Not the way I want to spend a three hour flight.) A guy finally did fill in the middle seat in the row I was in and I think it was one of those encounters that happen for a purpose. I noticed he had a book that I had started to read awhile back by Craig Groschel and asked him about it. Well that lead to an interesting conversation (I love finding out about people's stories and how the arrived where they are at in life) about his life and that he feels he is maybe being prepared to become a pastor or counselor. Anyway, the conversation lasted basically the entire three hours as we discussed life and the way God has been working in and through our lives. As we discussed things he mentioned he was going skydiving later this week after his conference. I am thinking this the type of friend I would hang out with so I asked him if he wanted to go hiking later that day at Red Rock Canyon. So later that day we went hiking for several hours and had some great conversation and got to take in some amazing views (hope to have some pictures to post later as he also happens to be interested in photography and took some pictures while we were out there). We are suppose to get together for dinner later this week and he continues to try to talk me into going skydiving. Strange to me that I met a new friend on a flight to Vegas. Go figure.

Later that night I had the chance to hang out with some friends that I have known for 20+ years. Great time to catch up a little on life and be challenged by my friend to step into a larger leadership role at church (a reoccurring theme with some of my friends). As I was heading back to the hotel at about midnight (2:00 a.m. for my body) I was thinking how interesting it was that here I was in Vegas and had the chance to spend time with a new friend and someone who has know me from way back when. Funny how God decides to use us and gives us the opportunity to invest in other people's lives whether it may be for a short season (hopefully it last for a longer season) and for over 20 years. Just reinforced to me that no matter where we are at in live that we are to be moving His kingdom forward by meeting the needs around us and investing in people. Hope your day is filled with some incredible opportunities to do just that.