I was 14 years old. My family was vacationing in Athens, Greece. We were traveling in the very busy city by bus. On this particular day I remember hearing my parents say, as we stood at the bus stop, that we were looking for bus number 2. That’s all I heard. The bus arrived, I saw number 2. The doors opened, I jumped on. The doors closed behind me like prison doors. I turned and realized no one else in my family boarded the bus. I was all alone. I remember looking through the windows, as the bus drove away, and seeing all of my family still standing on the sidewalk. I tried to make note of where the bus was and what turns it was making. The bus was so full there was no way to get to the driver. As soon as the bus stopped, I jumped off and started running as fast as I could back toward my family. I cried out to God, to help me.
Thankfully my family was still there. I was so glad to see them, even though I was greeted with a stern lecture on staying with the family, which was well deserved.
As I was being separated from my family I couldn’t help but feel the despair of drifting further away, wondering if I would ever see them again. Then the urgency to find my way back, wondering if they would still be there.
Psalm 145:18 (NIV) says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him.”
I can say that I felt the Lord near me as I called out to Him.
Know this today, if you find yourself drifting away from God, call out to Him. He is near.
Near is the word of the day.
God is near to all who call on Him.