Despite frustration and annoyance, I can’t help but believe
that today was a day completely designed and planned out by God himself. I
learned yet another lesson in patience, flexibility, determination, and God’s
overall provision. After a mechanical issue on my first flight and sitting
longer in South Bend Airport {boring}, rebooking for a later flight which would
reroute my entire trip, finding out that flight was also delayed until further
notice, another rebooking, and 6 hours later than originally planned I arrived
in San Antonio tired but full of energy and excited for a great vacation with
my high school best friend.
Some of you may be saying, “How in the world would you
consider the multiple flight changes God ordained?” At first, that’s what I
thought, too. However, having had time to reflect, that’s the only explanation
I can comprehend. I’ve flown multiple times and only once been delayed just
slightly but without interference to any connecting flights. I’ve not lost
luggage, and I’d never been on a plane that’s had known mechanical issues.
{Knock on wood, right?} Today all of the above happened – except the luggage - Praise
the Lord I didn’t check a bag; it’s hard telling where that might have ended
up.
While sitting in South Bend this morning, I noticed a
teenage girl hugging good-bye to her mother as we boarded the first flight {the
one with the mechanical issue}. I also
observed her mom talking to another couple that seemed to be a family friend.
{I love people watching in the airport.} Once on the plane the girl was seated
by herself across the aisle from me, and the “family friends” were rows in
front of us. We sat on the plane for about 20 minutes waiting for the mechanic
to give us the final go {mind you, we’d already been delayed an hour}. After
those 20 minutes, it was determined that the mechanic servicing our plane
didn’t have the knowledge to fix the error, so we were told we had to get off
the plane. I heard the teenage girl across the aisle ask the family friends
what she should do, to which they responded that they were just going to go
home. I hesitated, but then felt that I should see if she needed help. It was
friendship instantly!
We waited at the check-in counter for an hour and a half
together talking and sharing similar interests in Christianity, missions, and
outreach to the spiritually poor and brokenhearted while also trying to figure
out what our options were – she was flying to Philadelphia to visit her
biological mom. They booked us on separate flights mine at a later time to
Atlanta, and hers still to Detroit but at a later time as well. Her mother ended up returning to the airport
{which I later learned was her foster mom}, and she offered to take us out for
lunch.
We left the airport and headed to Subway and Starbucks. Through
conversation I learned that my new friend is technically from Liberia, and she
moved to Philadelphia with her mom in 2007. In 2008 she was placed in foster
care, and she has been with this family since then. Her “mom” is the principal
at Elkhart Christian Academy and a former 3rd grade teacher, so we
were able to swap school stories and talk about church and other such things.
Upon returning to the airport for our new flights at 2:30pm,
I learned that mine had been delayed to 7pm, and I would then miss my
connecting flight out of Atlanta with the next flight to San Antonio being
tomorrow morning {my original flight was scheduled for 10:20 this morning and
was set to arrive in San Antonio at 5pm}. I immediately went to the ticket
counter to see if there was any possible way I could reschedule on an earlier
flight. While waiting in line, we learned that Musu’s flight, too, had been
delayed.
Long story short, the broken plane from this morning had
been fixed, and there was room on it for both of us to fly to Detroit if we
left immediately. However, the flights from Detroit were all being delayed due
to weather, and we weren’t given departure times for our connections to our
final destinations. We arrived in Detroit hoping to find flights to Philadelphia
and San Antonio. God is faithful, because we both ended up on flights leaving
shortly after 8pm only 9 gates away from one another. {Detriot is huge, so this
was a blessing.}
We sat together in the airport for 3 hours, had dinner
together, and then parted ways. I’m so thankful that God provided a friend for
the day because it would have been a L.O.N.G. day by myself. I’m also glad that
I was able to help her out. {I could tell her mom was a bit hesitant putting
her on a plane to Detroit with no for sure plan once she got there.}
While I wasn’t thrilled to be delayed, cancelled, late, etc.
I do know that in all things God’s plans are best, and I’m sure that today was
no exception. I’m now here in San Antonio with Cassandra ready to enjoy the
next 4 days together! God is good!!
Let's hope my trip home is slightly less complicated! :)
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