Circumstances have awakened me to prod us all toward prayer.
Yesterday I flew to Texas via Southwest Airlines. First experience with Southwest. No seat assignments, so it’s first come, first to choose.
Took a vacant aisle seat near the wing, leaving an open seat between me and the guy at the window. As the final customers searched for remaining seats, a tall trans woman wedged in between me and the other guy.
Now at first, I was not sure this person was trans. He1 looked a lot like a tall, slender, woman dressed causally for travel. But his physique implied otherwise.
“Hi, I’m Mark.”
“I’m Jayne,” he said, as he pulled off his boots and tried to fit into the one-size-fits-some seats.2 Soon a porta-pillow was positioned behind his neck as he closed his eyes.
Once off the ground, I pulled out my kindle and began to read the first chapter of Nancy Pearcey’s Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. The main theme is the contrast between a biblical worldview with that of our culture, applying it to abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, and transgenderism. Picking up where I left off, it gave a brief overview of worldviews and homosexuality.
Jayne went deeper into her snooze.
The next section of chapter one was about worldviews and transgenderism. OK, how can I get past this irony!
My early indoctrination as an Evangelical has wired me to assume that every chance encounter is an opportunity to witness. But I certainly know any talk of Jesus needed to have a genuine opening with someone who is transgender and who likely assumes someone like me hates them.
So I simply prayed. A lot, actually. I prayed over and over that if God wanted me to engage with my sleepy fellow traveler, that somehow Jayne would start the conversation. And he did!
With about 20 minutes before landing, he suddenly came alive and promptly asked, “Are you from the Pittsburgh area?”
Jayne was traveling with his boyfriend who was somewhere else on board. They had a layover in Dallas, and then a final trip to their home in Santa Fe. We chatted about climate differences (quite a contrast between Santa Fe and Pittsburgh!) and then families. His dad was Jewish, his mom a devout Catholic who nearly became a nun, but he was raised to fend for himself with faith.
He admitted he believed there was “something out there” but stated he’d not found the path yet. I replied, “Maybe the path will find you.”
As tires screeched and engines roared, we taxied toward or gate. I mentioned that I was raised as a Christian and had just retired from 35 years of pastoral ministry. (No reaction.) To add a little “street cred,” I stated that my final church ministered to heroin addicts, alcoholics, and a few strippers.
Chitchat followed as we waited our turn to disembark. We exited. Told each other how we enjoyed our chat. And I parted with, “God bless you, Jayne.”
He’s been on my mind, on my heart, and in my prayers ever since.
Yesterday I also received an email from a colleague about one of her friends—let’s call her “Jenn.” She is nearing death with liver and kidney failure, and no assurance of eternal life. Her mom had died last year and then three weeks later her wife had passed. Now at 80 pounds, she herself seems at death’s door.
Jenn has known my friend for about 30 years, but had kept her health issues well hidden from everyone. So this news came as a shock. In college, Jenn came out as lesbian. Because of a very legalistic church background, she wanted nothing to do with God. My colleague has attempted to share Jesus several times in the past.
Pray with me today for the Jayne, Jenn, and others you know with similar mindsets, for the Holy Spirit to glide behind the walls of resistance and to speak clearly to their hearts.
PS: I will likely be referring to Pearcey’s book in future posts. Seems well worth the read if you like to think deeply about the issues of the day. Click the image below or the link above if you want to check it out:
When writing, I use proper pronouns instead of preferred. When I’m conversing with someone who is trans, especially a stranger, I will defer to their preferred.
Names are changed in this post to guard identities.
I hope Jayne finds what she's looking for. Jesus is as close as our breath. I hope she sees that. And I pray that Jenn finds peace and will see that some people haven't represented Jesus well to her, but there are others who might do a better job. I believe that Jesus might even show up for her when she is close to the other side.