The Eyes of Your Heart

To save money, my husband booked our seats in different places. I found myself in the middle seat for a five hour flight to Iceland. The aisle seat held a huge man descended from Vikings, who confided his plan to deal with the long flight by getting drunk. In the window seat, a sweet girl from North Africa frowned at her cell phone. Rashida (not her real name) studied law in Boston. If she’d told me she was a model or a beauty pageant contestant, I would’ve believed her.  

As soon as we took off, my new Viking friend ordered his first drink.

Rashida’s beautiful brown eyes stared into my soul and asked, “Why are all men so crazy?” Then she slumped.

Oh Lord, what do I say? I smiled. “You know, men say the same thing about us.” 

Viking raised his glass, “Amen.” Then he discovered he had a drinking buddy across the aisle.

Rashida and I laughed. Her smile dazzled. 

“Everyone is crazy in one way or another,” I said. “But I think there’s good crazy and bad crazy. Choose good crazy whenever you can.”

“In my culture, parents arrange marriages for their daughters,” she said. ‘My father and mother have picked two candidates. One is wealthy and demanding. When I arrive home, he wants me to quit school immediately, marry him, and have babies. He assumes I will and texts me many times a day. He’s making me miserable.

The other man isn’t rich but not poor. He’s told me honestly that he plans to spend his life helping people and trying to make the world a better place. He figures I’ll choose the rich guy and doesn’t contact me at all.”

“Many in the world would say to help others and not get rich—that’s crazy,” I said. “And what do you think about all of this? What do you want to do with your life?”

“I want to have children at some point, but I love law. I have excellent grades. My professors tell me I show great promise. My heart feels called to make the world better; I could do much good with a law degree in my homeland. But everyone thinks I’ll choose the rich guy, even my parents.”

“Do they know he’s demanding you quit school and marry now?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You need to talk to them.”

She furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure that will help.”

“I’ve never met your parents, but I’ve met their daughter. If I’m wrong about them, you tell me. I don’t think they would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send their little girl across a huge ocean to study, unless they cared about making the world better, too. Wouldn’t they want you to finish your degree? They want you to be happy. I believe they will help you.”

Her eyes grew large. “You’re right about them.”

“You’re a third year law student. I’m guessing you make a persuasive argument.”

“You know it!” Her eyes twinkled. She glanced down and noticed my wedding ring with a cross etched into the design. “How long have you been married?”

I showed her my ring. “It’s been almost forty years now.”

“How did you know he was the one you should marry?”

“We spent time together. He planned to teach. I studied to be a medical lab technician. We both felt Jesus calling us to spend our lives helping others. We didn’t have much but didn’t care about being rich. Also, we were crazy about each other.”

“Good crazy,” she nodded.

Viking snored. We giggled and decided to try to sleep.

When we landed in Iceland, Viking quickly disappeared. Rashida would be flying to London and then to her home country. She flung her arms around my neck. “Of all the people who could’ve sat beside me on the plane, I’m so glad it was you.”

“I’ll be praying for you,” I promised, as we said farewell.

This wasn’t a chance encounter. With my heart, I glimpsed the Lord working in the life of a young woman who struggled to do the right thing. I pray our conversation helped her and shone God’s light into her future. I don’t know the rest of the story; it’s in God’s hands, but I’ll meet her in eternity and hear the rest of the story.

Susan Boltz

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

(Ephesians 1:18-19a)