God answers prayer but I was on vacation

At some point as a Christian, at least for me, I find myself anticipating what God has planned next for my life. He doesn't lay out all His plans for our days ahead of time.  But we do see His signs along the way if we look for them.  If we already knew His plans, we would likely forget about Him.  It's the constant daily relationship with us that He wants!

So I found myself wondering and maybe I was praying about what was next or who was next in my path.  Who will have an influence on me?  Who will I have an influence on?  And the harder question, will I be ready?

On our visit to the gulf this past summer, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a teenage girl as she laid down on the lounge chair near us.   She was by herself and no one else joined her.  No family or friends seemed to be around anywhere, no one.   A fleeting thought of this being kind of odd crossed my mind.  It was hot on the beach that day.  Maybe I should speak and offer her a bottle of water.  But I was quickly distracted by conversation with my family, watching ocean waves, enjoying snacks, people watching and whatever else and I didn't notice her again until later, when she got up and left.

Later that evening, we were walking down the sidewalk, meeting people along the way, sometimes speaking to them and sometimes not.  I realized that we passed the same girl that I saw earlier on the beach.  I mentioned her to my husband, and when I turned around to look I didn't see her again.

There was just something that seemed sad about her.  If she was sad, would my speaking to her make a difference?  Would offering a bottle of water make a difference?  It certainly wouldn't have hurt.  We left the next morning and I didn't run into her again so all I could do was pray for her.

Was she that next person in my path?  Probably.  Looking back, I'm humbled by having seen her.  I'm humbled by how quickly this passed by and how easily I am distracted.  I am humbled by the fact that there was something there and I missed it.

As I was fixing my lunch and thinking about writing this post, this verse came to me.
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

He is a God of second chances and will carry on to completion.  He will keep working on me for sure and He will give her another opportunity too by putting someone else in her path.

I won't forget that humbling event and my next vacation will have a different perspective!