ep 13 - God Flew Me 850 Miles For A Stranger - Here is What Happened

TESTIMONIES

5/22/20266 min read

Y'all, I recorded this one on my way home because I knew if I waited I'd lose the details — and this story is too good not to share while it's fresh. About three or four weeks ago, I took a trip to Kansas City, Missouri for a bridal fashion show with my flower business. And before I even left, God made it clear: I was going there for someone. This is the story of what happened when I actually showed up in faith, stayed off my phone, and kept my eyes open — and how God walked me right into a divine appointment on a tiny plane somewhere over North Carolina.

The Setup: A Knowing Before I Left

The Friday before my trip, I was cooking breakfast when I felt it — not just a feeling, but a knowing in my spirit that I was going to Kansas City for a specific person. I almost canceled the trip that night when I got some hard news. But when I brought it to my husband, he reminded me of what I had felt that morning. If God called me there for one person, there was no canceling. We were on one accord — and that was that.

A few things made this trip extra stretching:

  • I hadn't been on a plane in eight years and I genuinely hate flying.

  • We hadn't been separated as a family in a long time, and I'd never left the kids before.

  • A massive rainstorm delayed my flight home and rerouted my connection.

But God had it all planned out — including the delay.

The Whole Weekend: Watching and Waiting

The entire trip I was watching. Praying. Making eye contact with strangers. I spent less time on my phone than I ever have. I just knew God sent me there for someone, and I was not about to miss it. But the whole weekend passed and I still hadn't found the person.

Then Monday came. Rain like I'd never seen driving to the airport. My early flight got pushed back two hours, which bumped my connection — and that's exactly what put me on the right plane at the right time.

The Divine Appointment: A Retired Golf Pro Named Keith

I end up on this tiny three-row plane — the kind where you can basically touch both walls if you stretch out. No one's sitting next to me at first, and then a mix-up with seats puts a 62-year-old man named Keith right next to me. Like, right next to me. Inches apart.

I started asking him questions. Found out he's retiring next year after 31 years as a golf pro, wants to spend his retirement fishing, and has recently gotten really into history — specifically the Revolutionary War.

We ended up talking about my parents' organization, Hope for Bethesda, and their 21 years of mission work in La Gonâve, Haiti. I shared the miracle story of how my mom had a specific dream about where to dig for water on the Bethesda campus — and how after two days of digging, they cracked a reservoir that ended up drawing over a thousand people from the surrounding area to come see fresh water for the first time. When I finished the story, Keith looked at me and said, "That sounds like a miracle."

And I said, "It doesn't sound like one. It is one."

That was the moment. That was the knowing. Keith was who God sent me for.

The Conversation That Opened the Door

I asked Keith if he considered himself a man of faith. He said he believed there was a God, knew God wanted to be involved in our lives — but there were just some things he couldn't reconcile. So I asked him: "If there was one thing keeping you from fully submitting yourself to God, what would it be?"

His answer surprised me: prayer. He'd seen too many people pray hard for something and not get an answer. He didn't understand when God says yes and when He doesn't.

So I asked if I could share three things with him — and he said absolutely.

Three Things I Shared With Keith

1. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — Daniel 3 Three Hebrew boys in Babylonian captivity who refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar's false god, even knowing they'd be thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. Their answer to the king: "Our God is able to save us — but even if He doesn't, we still won't bow." They got thrown in. The soldiers who brought them in died from the heat. And when the king looked through the window, there weren't three men in the fire. There were four — and one looked like the Son of God. They walked out without even the smell of smoke on them.

2. Isaiah 55:8-9 — God's ways are not our ways At 20,000 feet in the air, you can see so much more than you can standing right in front of a building. God's vantage point is infinitely higher than ours. What we think is the best answer sometimes isn't — and He, as a good Father, knows how to answer our prayers and when not to.

3. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane — Luke 22:42 Jesus Himself prayed, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me." Not because of the physical pain — but because for the first time in His entire existence, He was about to be separated from the Father. And even in that anguish, He ended with: "Nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done." If Jesus modeled that kind of surrendered prayer, we can trust that unanswered prayers aren't silence — they're sovereignty.

I wrapped it up with a real and personal one: my sister's son who was born at 23 weeks and passed away on day 31 after we prayed hard for his survival. And how even in that devastation, God used it to draw my sister back to Himself and make His presence more undeniable than ever. Sometimes God's answer is no — and He's still good.

The Challenge I Left Keith With

Keith was visibly moved. He asked for the name of my parents' organization and I watched him email it to someone right there on the plane. Before we landed I challenged him: when you get home from your vacation, read the book of John. He said yes.

And I told him — I felt it so strongly on Friday that I was coming to Kansas City for someone. "I'm really confident that person is you."

He said, "You know what? I think it is too."

The Parachute Analogy (Credit: Ray Comfort)

We're all on a crashing airplane — the airplane of life. Every one of us has an appointment with death. And someone hands you a parachute — Jesus Christ — and you say, "No thanks, I'm a good person. I'll save myself." That's the equivalent of flapping your wings on a crashing plane. We are all broken, fallen, and separated from God because of sin. God is holy and He requires holiness. We can't meet that standard on our own — but Jesus, the eternal High Priest who needed no atonement for Himself, lived the sinless life we couldn't live, died the death we deserved, and rose again proving He is exactly who He said He is. All we have to do is place our faith in Him.

The Takeaway

If you are looking for God, He will make Himself known. If you want to participate in what He's doing, show up, stay sensitive, put the phone down, and watch. He is always at work — and He will walk you right into it.

Scriptures Referenced

  • Daniel 3 — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace

  • Isaiah 55:8-9 — "My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts"

  • Luke 22:42 — Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane

  • Revelation 12:11 — we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony

Resources Mentioned

Share Your Testimony!

Do you have a testimony you'd love to share? Send Miki an overview at mcgarrypodcasts@gmail.com and she would love to have you on the show. Drop a comment, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. God is always at work — and so is this podcast. 🤍