Two hours earlier
Meredith enjoyed having the aisle to herself, at least for now. Time to think. Time to breathe.
She wanted to get her mind back to the place where it had been before she encountered Grandma Lucy at the gate. Before Connor called and things got weird.
A ministry for victims of sexual abuse. Homes set up around the country. Compassionate Christian staff trained to offer support and counsel. The ideas had been flowing so quickly at the gate that Meredith could hardly keep her pen moving fast enough, but now she sat motionless and stared at the half-filled page in her journal.
A visionary at heart, Meredith had never been short on ideas. Never been short on dreams. She’d built up Living Grace from a monthly women’s newsletter for Michigan believers to an international ministry known for its solid, Bible-based resources. Always looking to stretch herself out of her comfort zone, Meredith started blogging before half of Americans had signed up for a personal email account. Hers had been the very first podcast targeted specifically to Christian women, and her books had landed on several major bestseller lists. Even though Meredith recognized it was God’s blessings and his grace that allowed her to achieve each of these accomplishments, she also knew her personality was simply wired that way — to keep on growing, stretching, changing.
To never stop dreaming.
Which is what she’d been doing before Grandma Lucy interrupted her earlier. Dreaming about another ministry she could build from the ground up. Meredith would have never willingly stepped away from Living Grace, but maybe her resignation was God’s way of forcing her down a new path. A path she would have never chosen for herself but was now looking forward to with a zeal and excitement she hadn’t experienced in quite a long time. In a way the ministry she started had grown so large that the majority of her energy was focused on administrative duties instead of the real work she felt called to. God had stripped all that away from her, which certainly wasn’t easy, but maybe this was a pruning experience so she could be even more fruitful for the kingdom in the years to come. Meredith had always assumed she’d stay on with Living Grace until she died, but the truth was she’d grown complacent.
Maybe a change, a new project, a new calling was exactly what she needed.
So why had her ideas stopped flowing all of a sudden? Had her strange encounter with Grandma Lucy left her that thrown off?
“Excuse me. Can we get to our seats please?”
Meredith glanced up at the young mother who was holding onto her son’s hand and smiling apologetically in the aisle.
“Excuse me,” the woman repeated, stepping aside so Meredith could slip out of her seat to let the two pass. “Do you want the window seat, West?” the mother asked.
The boy nodded, wide-eyed.
Meredith and the mother exchanged pleasant smiles. “I’m Meredith.”
The woman nodded. “I’m Justine.”
Meredith smiled at the little boy. “And how old are you?”
He was too busy staring out the window to answer, watching the luggage as it got loaded into the belly of the plane.
Justine sat in the middle seat and gave Meredith one more smile as they reached for their safety belts at the same time.
Justine helped her son buckle his belt, and Meredith stared at her journal once more. Where had all her ideas gone?
“Do you want a drink from your water bottle?” While the young mother attended to her little boy, Meredith reached into her purse to pull out her phone. May as well check her emails one more time before she had to switch to airplane mode.
I’m worried about you.
She stared at the message. When had Connor texted her, and why hadn’t she heard her phone beep?
Maybe you should stay the night here and fly home tomorrow when the weather clears.
Meredith wasn’t sure if she should be grateful or annoyed. What business was it of Connor’s to begin with?
Just boarded, she typed back. Then to ease his concerns she added, If the roads are really bad, I’ll get a hotel in Detroit.
There. That should calm his nerves. When had he gotten so concerned for her well-being, and where was all that protective zeal yesterday when she could have used it in the board room?
She picked up her pen and decided to add to her list of recruits to help her begin her new phase of ministry. For the past fifteen years, Meredith was convinced that she was one of the few blessed believers fortunate enough to be working in a job that matched her passions and callings perfectly. Was it possible that Living Grace wasn’t her final goal in life but merely practice for this new ministry God was laying out before her?
She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so excited. So energized. Who knew that getting fired could end up so freeing?
I want you to call me as soon as you land. Let me know you arrived safely.
Connor again. Meredith knew that every person handled personal guilt in different ways, but this exaggerated display of concern was starting to annoy her.
She typed a quick thanks then switched her phone to airplane mode. Beside her, Justine was pulling out a snack of Cheerios for her son, and Meredith turned back toward her journal.
Time for some more dreaming.