It was my birthday, December 19th and I was flying home to see my family that I haven't seen in FOREVER and I was so excited. My flight was from SFO to Traverse City, Michigan with a connecting flight in Chicago. My layover in Chicago was already 5 hours, so when I arrived early in the morning (around 3 or 4am) I decided to sleep at my gate until my flight.
I woke up about 15 minutes before departure to realize that they had changed my gate and moved the flight from Terminal F to Terminal C! So I started running and running. I was so sleep deprived and when I arrived at the gate I burst into tears when I realized that they had closed the gate. I was crying like I hadn't cried in a LONG time, like a child. (In retrospect, I wonder if this moment allowed other things to be vented)
The gate agent checked with the pilot (the plane was still there) but they had already run all pre-flight checks and wouldn't accept me on board. Then my plane stood there during the whole ten minutes that this gate agent changed my flight. Why couldn't they just let me on?!?!?! I was SO annoyed and angry and I stormed off to go wait FIVE MORE HOURS, ugly-crying like a kid, on some bench.
Of course I updated my facebook status saying something about this being the worst birthday ever and people started encouraging me saying that maybe God had someone at the airport waiting to be blessed through me. I called my sister and she said the same thing and it annoyed me. I thought, 'I don't want to comfort anyone right now, I want someone to comfort me.' Basically, I was having the most embarrassing pity party ever at 8am and am SO GLAD no one was there to actually see it.
Anyway, as I was sitting there thoughts came to me... like... "Am I letting the enemy win? Am I letting him steal my birthday? What if God had someone that I could bless on my birthday? What if we could do a treasure hunt? Wouldn't that be fun on my birthday? What if someone actually GOT SAVED or HEALED on my birthday?!" And I started getting excited about the potential of the situation.
SO I told God that since my phone was dying I would pray for as long as it took my phone to charge and then I would go looking for the clues that he gave me. I was starting to get hopeful and excited. I even re-did my make-up and hair so that I wouldn't look scary to whoever I was talking to!!! :-)
I just started writing down everything I heard and didn't stop to analyze it. I started seeing that I would get different categories so I would just write on a different page or place. I had gotten some very distinct descriptions for two elderly people later on in my list, but the first 7 clues were really specific and I wasn't sure if it was for just one young person or multiple so I decided I would just look around and see. (I'll attach a picture of the list)
The first clues I got were:
-Purple shirt
-Dread-like brown hair. Not necessarily full dreads but close- unkempt?
-Blue or green or maybe light eyes... beautiful.
-Possibly freckles
-Black and white converse or tennis shoes
-Gray or black jeans
-Dysmorphic Body Image
-Dad issues
-Dreading Christmas
-Cat
and on and on...
For locations I got:
McDonalds
"C"
"D"
12
1,2,3
14
So I decided to start with locations. I thought the numbers might be gate numbers so I walked down to gate 12. To my surprise and delight between gates 12 and 14 was the McDonalds! But I didn't see any people to match any of the descriptions. This whole time I am wavering between excitement and doubt. "Am I REALLY actually going to find anyone? These are a lot of specifics!" So I decide to at least find my gate first (gate 7) and then go look.
So I walk down to gate 7 and I notices that gates 1-7 are in this massive semi-circle. So from gate 7, you can see gates 1-3 (which was on my list) So I sit down and just look towards those gates and all of a sudden, SHE walks through between gates 2 and 3!!!!
She had the purple shirt!!!! Oh my gosh, she had the dread-like brown hair!!!! She has tennis shoes on! And gray jeans!!! Oh my goodness, its her!!!!!
I start freaking out. I don't even know what to do. The only other times I have done treasure hunts have been with groups of people or our youth group back home!
So I just start following her! Haha. I'm asking God for strategy. I'm asking him to give me a good window. She's kind of walking through the terminal, looking at all the shops.
She goes over to a charging kiosk and plugs her phone in. So I decide to plug my phone in right next to her. I turned my phone face down of course, so she couldn't see that my phone was in fact, fully charged. :-) Guess where the charging kiosk was? RIGHT ACROSS FROM MCDONALDS, Between gates 12 and 14!!!! (more freaking out and being amazed by God)
So I have no idea how to open the convo... "Hello, I love Jesus and I know it's weird, but I've been following you..." NO.
So I decide to take a picture of her (also attached) because I figure even if I chicken out and don't talk to her, I would have at least the proof to myself that I DID hear from God and I found someone that God told me to find.
So I take the picture (like a crazy person) and as I'm praying for God to give me some kind of "in" to strike up conversation naturally with her, she pulls out a Nikon DSLR and starts taking pictures of people and the airport. (I have been a professional photographer for the last 7 years.) So I say:
"Oh, hey! Are you a photographer?"
"Oh no, I just really love taking pictures."
"Oh cool, what kind of camera is that? I'm actually a photographer."
"Oh no way! That's cool"
So we chit-chat for a little about photography and then **crickets** start chirping and I feel it in my gut...like this butterfly attack is happening....
I thought the "C" or "D" might be a name so I started thinking Chloe, Cara, Caitlyn, etc... So I said, "Hey does your name start with a 'C'?"
"No."
**Crickets** The enemy immediately says, "Fail. Just walk away, nothing on that list is going to apply to her." But I remembered how the description matched her EXACTLY, so I kept going....
"So hey! This might sound weird, but it's my birthday today and I'm a Christian"
"Oh, I'm a Christian too!" she says with a smile.
"Oh great, maybe this will be easier then." I say
And I tell her about my missed flight and my ugly-cry pity party and then I tell her that I'm growing in my ability to hear God and respond to what he tells me and that sometimes I like to go on "treasure hunts" with God, where he gives me clues about people and then I go out looking for the people he told me about.
She is a mixture of curious, incredulous, and interested.
I go on to say that I believe God led me to her and gave me clues to find her, reading the first 6 clues on the list aloud to her, which she reacted surprised and excited to each one. "No way! Does it really say that!"
So clue number 7 was a little more serious... Dysmorphic body image.... and I was afraid to say that to her, so I prefaced with something like:
"Ok, so I'm just going to read through these clues, but I want you to feel completely free to say, 'Actually, that's totally not me' because I know that there are at least two other people that God gave me descriptions for, and some of these might have to do with them, so feel free to tell me if they are not you."
And she was like, "Ok cool"
"So," I said, "This next one is a little personal, but have you ever, or do you still struggle with like a dysmorphic body image?"
She instantly started to tear up. "Um, yeah. I still struggle with that. I've been struggling with Body Dysmorphic Disorder since I was a teenager and I'm 30 now and it's still something I struggle with"
And I said, "Ok, well I think God wants to heal you of that today"
to which she emphatically nodded and said, "Okay!"
Then I just went down the list....and through the next 3 pages and EVERYTHING (except for the description of the old man and woman) WAS HER!!!!
My next clue was "Dad issues" and she had some unresolved issues with her dad
I asked her if she was looking forward to Christmas (it said "dreading Christmas" on the list, and I really didn't want to ask that) and at first she said yes, but then she was like,.... "Well what does it say?"
And God immediately gave me a download into why she was dreading Christmas and so I said,
"Well it says you are 'dreading Christmas' but I feel like its more about how you are feeling this year. You really love your family and are looking forward to being with them, but you are also dreading it because there are some tensions with your family right now and when you are around them, you don't really feel valued, seen, or have a voice"
*WIDE EYES, NODS, "Yeah that's right..."*
I had relationship with sister written down later and I just heard 'brother' so I said, "And specifically with your sister, dad, and do you have a brother...?" *WIDE EYES, NOD* "Okay, so yeah, with him too?" (More incredulous, teary nodding)
"And also, a lot of your siblings are married and have started their families, and so often feel lonely and depressed when you are around them.." *CRYING, NOD, "Yes, that's so true."*
She goes on to share she has several siblings but that she has been having trouble with her father, brother and one sister who recently just had a baby...
The next clue was a picture I had seen so I start describing it to her and God starts downloading as I am speaking...
"Did you dance or sing as a little girl?"
"Yes I was a ballerina for 13 years and I was involved in choirs as a kid"
"Ok, yeah because I saw this picture of you as a little girl, and you were dancing ballet on this stage and you kept looking out towards the audience because you were hoping your family was there to watch you and be proud but no one was there. In fact, the entire auditorium was empty. (she starts tearing up again) I don't think this is a memory. I think this is a picture of how you feel RIGHT now, in your life. You don't feel seen and supported or valued. But as I was looking out at the auditorium, I saw that God was there and he was standing, cheering you on and clapping for you with such pride and love for you."
*CRYING, "Wow.."*
"And I feel like God is saying that no matter how you have felt, unseen and unheard that he wants you to know that HE sees you and values you and loves you. It is his delight to watch you go after the things in your heart. And I also feel like this dancing and singing represents a WHOLE side of yourself that you have been neglecting lately. (*Yes, wow...that's so true. You have no idea..*) And that God is encouraging you to sing and dance again and go after the things that make your heart come alive. It doesn't have to mean a career switch, but the fact that you have silenced this creative and alive part of who you are and that God just wants to encourage you to come back to that, because there is a lot of life there for you"
And she is just amazed and crying and smiling and affirming the words.
So I skip to the next page where it says, "Emotional/Spiritual Issues" and I again say the thing about her telling me if something doesn't apply to her.
"Have you been having bad dreams lately? Like maybe the last couple of months"
"Shut up! Does it really say that? Yes, I have been having awful dreams"
"Ok well not after today. We can pray for that. What about anger issues? Specifically I see that sometimes you try not to let things bother you but it does and it builds up and then it just comes out at the strangest times and surprises you and the people that are on the other side of it."
"Wow, yeah. That's totally accurate. It's always a complete surprise and throws ME off guard and I'm the one who's angry"
"Ok, well we will pray for that too. Have you been struggling with depression or any thoughts of suicide?"
"Depression, yes totally. Really bad actually. Not suicidal thoughts though, thankfully but really bad depression."
"Ok and we already talked about your dad and sister, so we will pray for all of those things."
The last list I had was physical ailments, so I explained to her that I believed God wanted to not just touch her heart, but also her body if she had any physical pain or illness.
"Oh well actually I don't need any healing. I don't have anything wrong with me."
"Oh, okay. Well let me read through the list and if you know of anyone else with these, we can pray for them."
"Oh! Okay, cool!"
"Ok the first thing I wrote down was "throat" but I think this is something spiritual too because the last thing I wrote was "voice". I think spiritually you have felt like you have no voice, and you are not heard...but i think sometimes this actually happens to you....when you really want to say something and you find that you are actually not able to. Like its almost like right at that moment you can't actually speak"
"Yes, wow. No, that is crazy...that happens to me all of the time"
"Ok, well we can pray for that. The next thing is wrists... do you have pain with your wrists at all?"
"Nope."
"Anyone you know? "
"Not that I know of."
"Ok, well maybe that's for another person. The next thing I have is "Body issues" which we already talked about and we are definitely going to pray for. THe next thing is lower abdomen. Do you have any pain in that area?"
"Well sometimes I have with digestion, but not right now."
"Ok well we will pray for your digestive track anyway. Haha. Um the next one is kind of specific, your left lower back... like right above your hip?"
"Oh my goodness! I do have pain there! I've had it for so long, I forgot about it! I have chronic pain in that area."
"Ok, no worries! Jesus totally wants to heal that today! The last one I have is your right ankle"
"NO WAY! I just hurt that YESTERDAY! I was hiking and I just turned or twisted it wrong..."
"Ok, well that's going to get healed too! Do you mind if I put my hand on your ankle?"
And you know what happens next pretty much. We prayed for ALL of it. The physical stuff, the emotional and spiritual stuff. God gave me words and even specific spirits to pray against. I had her break a few agreements...we walked into some lies and declared the truth over them. I honestly, no longer worried about being "weird" because it was obvious God had miraculously opened a huge door and prepared her to receive what he had for her. She had no more pain, and her countenance from when I first talked with her to the end was markedly different. I told her towards the end that I thought there were 3 main things that God wanted to communicate with her and to her today.
I said, 1. You are seen. God sees you and he loves you. What you think and say and feel matters to him. He wants you to know that no matter what you are feeling, that he is here. He loves you so much. Out of all of the people in this entire airport that he could have led me to, he led me to YOU! Very specifically. You just saw with your own eyes and heard with your own ears that God has you on his heart and mind and wants to talk with you and bless you.
2. He cares about your family. He is all about reconciliation and unity. He wants you to know that he has seen how hard it has been lately with your family and he's not going to stop fighting for your family. His heart is that you will all be restored and healthy and unified. He is not giving up, ever.
3. I feel like God is extending an invitation to you today. You are a Christian and I can tell that you really do believe and love God but you have also been kind of distant from him lately. He's not upset at you and his heart towards you has not changed at all, but he's inviting you to have MORE if you want it. I keep hearing the lyrics of that song, "If you want it, come and get it..." I saw this picture and I heard that verse where he talks about the 'banquet table laden with choice foods'... just laid out with all of this amazing food. And I see that there is this table and it has amazing things for you on it. And God is inviting you to come to the table and be with him and that verse comes to mind where it says, "I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and he opens the door, I will come in and be with him" God has been knocking for a while, gently. He will not barge through the door. He's patient with you and it's your choice how close you want him to come to you, but he's inviting you to have more, and he's waiting at the door. But no one can make that choice for you or give that to you. Certainly not some stranger at the airport. Haha. It's up to you. But know that God is inviting you to MORE. In every area of your life. You have a call on your life to start REALLY living....
And then she said thank you and how amazing and incredible this day has been and she can't believe how much love Jesus has for her that he would bring me to her to say all of these things to her and tell her about herself. And she said that she could tell that even I didn't realize how accurate and spot on what I was saying was, that I had "no idea" even more of the details and back story was but that everything went together and deeply touched her. Haha. And then SHE PRAYED FOR ME!!!!!!! And she blessed me and loved on me!!!! And we exchanged emails and took pictures of ourselves. Haha. It was SO amazing!!!!
One thing that really struck me besides THE OBVIOUS all of the above, was how quickly God wooed my heart from devastation and distress into complete JOY and freedom. It completely reminds me of Job 36:16 where it says, "He is wooing you from the jaws of distress into a spacious place, free from restriction" which is actually a verse I gave to her when I was praying for her! And I just looked it up and the end of it says, "to the comfort of your table, laden with choice food." Hahah!!!!! I totally forgot that was the end of that verse!!!!! I really hope she looked it up! Hahahahha!
Anyway- God used me even when I had THE WORST attitude and he turned my mourning into dancing and rejoicing. And he blessed this woman unbelievably. I don't think she could have walked away from that unchanged.
I am attaching the photos of the treasure hunt journal entries and well as the pictures of her.
Bless you!
