Obviously the lesson of the day would be patience, patience, patience - a very small attribute of mine. Once I got into Dallas I hopped on the train, which must have been built by Six Flags, to find my gate. With all the twisting, turning, and shaking of the train, I would not have been surprised if we dropped 10 feet and did a loop-de-loop. Once off I ran to check in at the gate for the 2 p.m. departure. The stewardess chuckled at me when I asked if this flight would be on time. That should have been a warning sign.
I consuming the time by talking with my mom and texting. Finally 2 p.m. was close. I glanced at the departure screen and saw that the 2 p.m. had changed to 2:25 p.m. Oh no! Not again. My fear rose up again. The once chuckling stewardess reassured me that this was only a "slight" delay and they had some small problems. Uh..huh..right..!
Soon the flight delay kept moving up from 2:25 p.m. every 20 minutes and as it did, everyone let out distressful sighs as if that could change things. I felt my blood pressure rise every 20 minutes. For the past several years I have made quite a few flights to KY. None of those flights had ever been delayed or even late. I couldn't understand why both my flights had been delayed. American Airlines was definately off my list of flying next time.
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| Stranded in Dallas. This was the store next to my gate. I should have worn my Houston Texans shirt! |
The noise from other angry customers, babies crying, and golf carts beeping was about to get to me. Tired from being up at 6 a.m., I wanted to run away from the noise but I was too frightened to leave the gate. I finally allowed my eyes to close and drift away for a second, saying a silent prayer. I remember many times in my life when I was thankfully for these little stalls and hiccups in my plans. However, they didn't seem like they lasted this long. Funny how we dismiss the long wait time once we have overcome the trial.
After my prayer, I began to feel thankful for this experience of the delays and to be able to escape for the moment to just "be". God reminded me yet again that regardless of my plans, He was still in control. I could trust Him no matter what.
Finally at 4 p.m. they made the long awaited announcement that we would be boarding at a differente gate on a different plane as the other one could not be fixed. I almost ran to grab my Starbucks until I saw everyone lined up at the new gate. I quickly texted Mike and was on the plane within minutes.
How awesome! I knew God was in control. My heart and my life belongs in His Hands.
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