underwear... always take an extra pair because your plans might fall through...
I've been looking forward to this week for months. Months and months and months. Months filled with wondering, and truthfully, a bit of anxiety. Because 3 months ago, I got to see this tiny shrimp in my belly, and this week I would get to see the transformation from shrimp to baby. I wanted to make sure little one was doing well. Two legs, to arms, a beating heart, a beautiful profile, that's all I really wanted to see. People keep asking if I want a boy or girl, but as cliché as it sounds, I just want a healthy baby. A healthy little one is my first desire. Anything after that is a fun adventure. And so when I realized I was going to spend more nights away from home than I would in my own bed this month, I made sure to schedule everything around this appointment. My baby comes before work.
I got to the airport on Sunday afternoon at 1:30. By 3:30, Aaron was on his way back to get me. Thanks to bad weather, my flights were messed up. So was my schedule. I was supposed to be gone Sunday through Tuesday, and now I was going to have to tack an extra day onto to my trip. No worries, I thought to myself, I'll be back on Wednesday so I'll be ready for my appointment on Thursday morning. And so when I eagerly arrived at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, I was furious to find out my flight home was cancelled. Surely there would be a late flight I could take. Negative. And thanks to delays, I missed my original connecting flight by 12 whole minutes. I hoped I could get on stand-by, and ended up 14th on the list. I received a hotel voucher for the night and was told to head down to the shuttle waiting area. I stood outside in the Dallas heat and humidity for 45 minutes waiting on a shuttle that was only supposed to be 10 minutes away, and I thought I was going to have a meltdown. I haven't angry cried in a long time, and it was about the sixth time that day I was fighting back angry tears. My flight was scheduled to take off at 6:15AM the following morning, and if all went as scheduled, I would be home in time for my appointment, however, considering my luck up until this point, I had my doubts.
I finally made it to the hotel, took a hot shower after fighting with the faucet settings for a good bit, and then realized I was totally out of clean underwear. I used to majorly over pack for trips, but once I began traveling by myself, I realized I didn't want to lug around a heavy bag and so I only take what's necessary. Thankfully I had one clean t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts to wear home, but I kicked myself for not throwing in at least one extra pair of underwear. Note to self, always take an extra pair. I finally dropped into bed, set 3 alarms to I wouldn't miss the 5:00AM shuttle back to the airport, and asked the Lord to get me home before 8:00AM. I landed at 7:20, and made it to my appointment with time to spare.
It's easy to get wrapped up in our own schedules, to only be concerned about our needs and agendas, and forget that there is a world full of people who have plans too. It's easy to think we're the only one that matters, the only one who has something really important going on, without realizing that other people's lives, other people's plans are equally important to them. They matter just as much. But what's more, we forget that God has a plan, too. Sometimes it might not match ours. Sometimes it might take us down a path we don't expect or one we don't want to travel. It might seem insignificant. It might be confusing. It might appear that we're taking the long way, that surely there is a faster, easier way, but maybe God wants to teach us something. Maybe He wants to show us something. Or maybe He just needs to work on us, and this is how He's choosing. Maybe God's ways are higher, even if we don't understand them, and maybe, like His word says, they really are better than we can currently see.
I think this is only the beginning. The beginning of learning how to be really flexible. Of learning to let go of my perfectly scheduled plans and of being grateful even when things don't go my way. Of learning how to be a big girl, how to quit being so selfish as if I am the only one who matters, and how to adjust and adapt regardless of how much I really don't want to. And that's probably a lesson that can be widely applied. Because yelling doesn't make things better. Demanding, crying, and throwing a fit won't always work in our favor. But accepting change, dealing with it, making the most of it, and not letting it ruin our day - better yet our lives - is a better method to adopt. Because we'll get there. Eventually, we'll get there. And we can either gripe our way there, which I'm usually guilty of, or we can say, "Okay, Lord, I trust that you're going to get me there so in the midst of this chaos and disappointment, I'm going to remember that and lean on you for help during this process."
Make plans. Be prepared. But be willing to change, willing to be flexible, because you just never know where the journey will take you.
I got to the airport on Sunday afternoon at 1:30. By 3:30, Aaron was on his way back to get me. Thanks to bad weather, my flights were messed up. So was my schedule. I was supposed to be gone Sunday through Tuesday, and now I was going to have to tack an extra day onto to my trip. No worries, I thought to myself, I'll be back on Wednesday so I'll be ready for my appointment on Thursday morning. And so when I eagerly arrived at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, I was furious to find out my flight home was cancelled. Surely there would be a late flight I could take. Negative. And thanks to delays, I missed my original connecting flight by 12 whole minutes. I hoped I could get on stand-by, and ended up 14th on the list. I received a hotel voucher for the night and was told to head down to the shuttle waiting area. I stood outside in the Dallas heat and humidity for 45 minutes waiting on a shuttle that was only supposed to be 10 minutes away, and I thought I was going to have a meltdown. I haven't angry cried in a long time, and it was about the sixth time that day I was fighting back angry tears. My flight was scheduled to take off at 6:15AM the following morning, and if all went as scheduled, I would be home in time for my appointment, however, considering my luck up until this point, I had my doubts.
I finally made it to the hotel, took a hot shower after fighting with the faucet settings for a good bit, and then realized I was totally out of clean underwear. I used to majorly over pack for trips, but once I began traveling by myself, I realized I didn't want to lug around a heavy bag and so I only take what's necessary. Thankfully I had one clean t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts to wear home, but I kicked myself for not throwing in at least one extra pair of underwear. Note to self, always take an extra pair. I finally dropped into bed, set 3 alarms to I wouldn't miss the 5:00AM shuttle back to the airport, and asked the Lord to get me home before 8:00AM. I landed at 7:20, and made it to my appointment with time to spare.
It's easy to get wrapped up in our own schedules, to only be concerned about our needs and agendas, and forget that there is a world full of people who have plans too. It's easy to think we're the only one that matters, the only one who has something really important going on, without realizing that other people's lives, other people's plans are equally important to them. They matter just as much. But what's more, we forget that God has a plan, too. Sometimes it might not match ours. Sometimes it might take us down a path we don't expect or one we don't want to travel. It might seem insignificant. It might be confusing. It might appear that we're taking the long way, that surely there is a faster, easier way, but maybe God wants to teach us something. Maybe He wants to show us something. Or maybe He just needs to work on us, and this is how He's choosing. Maybe God's ways are higher, even if we don't understand them, and maybe, like His word says, they really are better than we can currently see.
I think this is only the beginning. The beginning of learning how to be really flexible. Of learning to let go of my perfectly scheduled plans and of being grateful even when things don't go my way. Of learning how to be a big girl, how to quit being so selfish as if I am the only one who matters, and how to adjust and adapt regardless of how much I really don't want to. And that's probably a lesson that can be widely applied. Because yelling doesn't make things better. Demanding, crying, and throwing a fit won't always work in our favor. But accepting change, dealing with it, making the most of it, and not letting it ruin our day - better yet our lives - is a better method to adopt. Because we'll get there. Eventually, we'll get there. And we can either gripe our way there, which I'm usually guilty of, or we can say, "Okay, Lord, I trust that you're going to get me there so in the midst of this chaos and disappointment, I'm going to remember that and lean on you for help during this process."
Make plans. Be prepared. But be willing to change, willing to be flexible, because you just never know where the journey will take you.
Comments
Post a Comment