In 1979 I was flying from L.A. to Oakland. I prefer aisles seats and was fortunate to get one. A stranger was in the middle seat, his wife by the window.
Once airborne, I got out my Bible and was reading Psalm 30 when suddenly the stranger reached over and laid his hand across the whole page. Turning to me, he said, “I claimed the promise of that Psalm every night for a whole year. We lost two fine sons by a drunk driver. Those words, ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning’ carried us through our grief’” He introduced himself ‒ Charles F. Bennett, a pastor of a church in Hayward, CA.
That flight takes about 1½ hours, but as we soared through the air our hearts came together in Christ’s sweet fellowship, and we lost all sense of time. It was like a bit of the Emmaus Road when the Lord warmed the hearts of two disciples as He spoke to them of the “things concerning Himself.” In the airport baggage area, is wife came up to me and said, “I would like you to know he prayed this morning that the Lord would put him in touch with another brother.”
God was working in Charles Bennett's life and mine to bring us together at a moment in time to glorify Him and show how His eye is always upon us and how He provides for His sons and daughters to encourage one another.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
Dan Hooten
Plainview, Texas
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