Train Ticket to Everything Will Be Okay

 

A friend of a friend picked me up in Prague as I made my way from the airplane. I was exhausted and definitely looked like I'd been traveling for over 24 hours. He bought me a train ticket and we conversed as we waited for our time to board.

 I stepped onto the train, and every car had one or two people in it. I was unsure of whether I was supposed to sit in any car or if I was supposed to find an empty one. So, I walked to the end of the long, narrow hallway, and my friend said, "You can sit in any of the cars, ya know." 

And I'd come to the last one in that section of the train. A middle-aged man was sitting in the car by himself next to the window. I peeked in and asked, "Can I sit with you?" 

"Yes, of course. Can I help you with your bags?" *at this point I was realizing that I had overpacked for my trip and gave off white-American tourist vibes. 

We got my luggage situated in the racks above our seats, and I sat across from him. My friend wished me good luck and left. And in that moment, I thought what the heck have I just done. Here I was, with a complete stranger, a suitcase and a carry-on, pulling an all-nighter and unable to converse because I knew none of the language. 

This was going to be a long train ride. 

But, it was not what I had expected at all. At first, I was looking mesmerized out the window, and he noticed. "Don't take the train often?" he asked me. 

"Actually, it's my first train ride." He looked at me stunned and curious. 

The man spoke enough English that we were able to talk, and we ended up talking the majority of the time. I asked if he took the train often, if he took it to and from his work in Prague. 

He replied, "Actually no, my car is in the shop getting fixed, so this is the first time I've ridden the train in awhile."

I like to call moments like these, divine intervention.

Before getting on, I had been worried that I would fall asleep on the ride and miss my stop, and I silently prayed that the man would have the same stop as me. At one point, my eyes grew heavy and after a few moments, I asked him, "Where are you headed?"

"Hradec Kralove." Perfect. That was my stop too! Thank you, Lord. I chuckled and told him I was glad, because I wasn't sure I'd be able to stay awake the whole time. 

"Rest your eyes, relax. You will get to where you need to be."

After about ten minutes of resting my eyes, I began to ask him about his life. He told me of his work, his daughter at home waiting for him, Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana music, the hardships that 2021 had brought him. There were a few times when his eyes would glisten with tears or he would get choked up in his words, take a deep breath, and pause. I didn't pry. I was in no hurry. 

He asked me what had brought me here. And I told him part of my story. He said, "You will have wonderful time here. It is a beautiful country. Everything will be okay."

Everything would be okay. 

It was as if the Spirit of God filled those words. For weeks, months even, that had been my biggest question. As I was entering into a relationship and long distance felt daunting, as the details of the trip continued to change, as I doubted my abilities and calling, I continued to ask God and everyone around me, "Will everything be okay? Will we be okay? Will I be okay?"

And yet, a stranger, a man I had known for merely minutes, looked me in the eyes and said, "Everything will be okay." 

Peace washed over me.

Time went by way too fast that night on the train. We got to our stop, he helped me with my bags and with navigating the train station. 

"You have someone coming to pick you up?" he asked.

"Yes, a friend. He should be here any moment."

He sat my bag down, reading my name on the tag. And he left with this: 

"Everything will be okay, Nicole. You will have wonderful time here." Then, he walked out into the golden lit city street with slim chances that I would ever see him again. 

But for a moment, I felt peace. I felt assured that this was exactly where I was supposed to be. God used a complete stranger to answer the question of my heart. 

I later told my host family about the man on the train, and they were very very surprised. "It is uncommon for strangers to speak to people in this country, so it is very abnormal that he was so open and talkative."

And that reveals just how much God had His hand in it. I do not doubt for a moment that God orchestrated every moment of my journey here, every person that I came into contact with. 

One thing I have learned in the last few months is that with God, nothing is wasted. When Jesus fed the 5000, He had the disciples pick up all of the leftovers - 12 baskets full! 

God can use any moment, any person, any hardship, anything that you have to offer. Anything that you feel disqualifies you or makes you feel like you aren't enough. God will use it! 

I hope you can find encouragement in that reality, because I definitely have. 

The beauty of our Creator is that He has been intentional from the very beginning. It's His nature. And a part of His intentionally is wanting to enter into relationship with us and care for us at such an intimate level it rarely makes sense from the outside looking in.