In my last blog (click here to read), I shared my concerns about my son being stuck in the Middle East during the pandemic. Once my son decided to come home, we had to move quickly before the borders closed indefinitely, trapping him overseas.
I immediately went into action. Air Canada had already drastically cut back on their flights, so I had no choice but to book my son a flight on an American airline. My son had a connecting flight to Toronto through Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, a state already in crisis mode. I was worried about him travelling through a state that was already at its breaking point, but there were no other options.
I knew that I needed to cover my son with prayer throughout his journey. I am so grateful that my church family, my bible study friends, and a number of friends in writing groups across the country prayed for my son’s safe travels. It may sound silly, but it helped me as I prayed to envision my son having a bubble around him that would protect him during each leg of his journey.
First my son had to travel a lengthy distance by taxi to get to the airport. Then he had three flights to endure, including the long flight across the Atlantic. Then he had to travel by taxi from the airport to our home as it wasn’t safe to pick him up ourselves. He called us at every checkpoint.
Meanwhile we set up our home to accommodate my son’s two-week period of self-isolation. I am grateful that we had a guest room with its own bathroom on one of the levels of our four-level split. My husband and I could easily make do with not accessing that level during the duration of the isolation period. I stocked up supplies he might need in the guest room and waited on pins and needles for my son to come home.
My son left his apartment with everything he could fit in his two suitcases and backpack—he had to leave some things behind, knowing that it was unlikely he would ever return—and was home, safe and secure, within 36 hours.
I was overjoyed. For months after, I fervently thanked God for bringing my son home safe, with no signs of being infected with the virus. Oh, the power of prayer!
It was truly a miracle that gave me comfort during the next few months as losses due to the pandemic piled up.
Click here to read the next instalment in "Prairie Girl Goes Coastal."