“A desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).
Dear Praying Friends:
Dori and I returned last Wednesday from a two-week vacation (including four days of travel) to Austria, Hungary, and Germany. This long-awaited trip was made possible by the stunning and entirely spontaneous generosity of friends and family.
In many ways, we experienced “a desire fulfilled.” We went to places we have long wanted to visit and tasted joys we have for many years desired to experience, including a cruise along the Danube River.
Two highlights (among many) were a marvelous Mozart concert in the “Golden Hall” of the Musikverein in Vienna, which we have seen annually on the PBS New Year’s program of Strauss waltzes that is broadcast from there. To our surprise, it appeared that perhaps as many as two-thirds of the audience were Chinese, including the Christian family sitting in front of us, who live in Houston!
From youth, Dori had wanted to see the Alps, so we took the train to Innsbruck, where she had booked a hotel room with a view of the magnificent Nordkette. Standing near the peak was for us truly a “high point” of our entire vacation, and a vivid reminder of God’s creative power and glory.
Along the way, we encountered several dozen delightful people. Some were Christians, others seemed totally ignorant of Christianity, and many appeared to be completely sunk in darkness. One fellow Classicist sitting next to me on the cable car up the mountain declared, “I am a total atheist.”
Quite a few took the initiative to help us - carrying our bags, giving directions, and generally making things easier or even possible. I was cheered and challenged by several folks who exuded optimism and effervescent joie de vivre, like Heidi the flight attendant, to whom I said, “I want to be like you when I grow up.”
Several seemed quite content with a life without God, like Romeo (his real name!), Dori’s seatmate for several hours on the flight back to America. He was on his way to visit his girlfriend Anna, who lives in Texas. He and Dori hit it off so well that he brought Anna over to meet us at the baggage claim area in Houston.
As you know, I love to speak of God whenever I can, and on this trip I had at least two dozen such opportunities. Some were fleeting, but on the flight to Toronto I had a two-hour conversation with a Chinese man (Eric) who had just decided he needed to seek the meaning of life. He kept peppering me with questions about God.
Alas, I also sometimes failed to glorify God by sharing the word of life. I didn’t follow up with a couple from New Zealand whom we met at a restaurant in Innsbruck and then encountered several times on our outing to the Nordkette. I realized later that I should have asked the Classicist, “Why are you an atheist?” and that I had been so tired and so caught up in a book I was reading that I didn’t take the initiative to switch seats with Dori and engage Romeo in a conversation about ultimate things. I wept bitter tears of repentance, shame, and regret about this the morning after we returned.
We encountered difficulties and met with disappointments, of course. Low water levels along the Danube kept us from touring Budapest and necessitated some long bus rides. Travel fatigue and plantar fasciitis prevented me from accompanying Dori on two excursions that entailed a lot of walking. But these did not keep us from having a great once-in-a-lifetime vacation. They only reminded us that this world is not our home and that we should “set [our] hope fully on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
We had several “near misses,” but God stepped in, usually through other people, to save us from what could have been serious trouble.
God willing, I plan to post a longer description of this wonderful “desire fulfilled,” along with the “near misses,” on my blog (wrightdoyle.com) very soon.
Thank you for all your prayers!
We are back home now, eager to plunge into life here, including our ministries and family responsibilities.
Thank you for reading this unusually long letter!
Yours in his greatness and goodness,
Wright