I love it when stories are funny or thought-provoking or inspiring. This one is a rare combination of the three and teaches us how the Lord is mindful of us and teaches us lessons in the most unexpected ways.
Years ago, my employer at the time, gave me a “Leadership Award” and sent my wife and I on a vacation to San Francisco, California. The planned Sunday activities included a Hot Air Balloon Ride over the beautiful Napa Valley north of San Francisco. We both felt a little guilty about participating in this activity as we would be heading out into the countryside and would be missing our church meetings. While on vacation, we had always made a point of observing the Sabbath, and attending our church meetings, no matter where we were.
The balloon ride included my wife and I, two other people we did not previously know, and the pilot. The ride was beautiful but we felt some pain knowing we were not where we should be, not doing what we knew we should be doing.
As the balloon ride came to an end, the pilot slowly brought the balloon down and prepared to land at the designated spot. However, as we came in to land, the winds picked up and pilot had to open up the burners and up we went.