12 hours in Chicago and I'm back where I started...I shouldn't be sitting here on my couch at home right now. I should be in South Carolina preparing to stand up next to my friend as she is married, and celebrate God's bringing two wonderful people together.
But God had other plans. I left our house yesterday morning at 4:45am to catch a flight out of Sacramento at 6:00am. Everything seemed fine, but when the plane rested on the tarmac for two hours before taking off, I knew it would be a challenging day. When we finally left Sacramento, I knew I would be missing my connecting flight in Chicago... yah, I was flying to Chicago... on the day after Christmas. I arrived three and a half hours later in Chicago to find that my flight had been cancelled. The next flight was 6 hours later at 7:30pm. I was hungry, I was tired, and I was frustsrated. Chicago O'hare International Airport was a madhouse! There were people everywhere, many of them trying to reschedule flights, the terminal was hot and stuffy and I was getting claustraphobic. There was nothing I could do but wait. I waited and waited, only to see my flight delayed again until 8:30pm, then 9:50pm, then 11:00pm, then Cancelled again. My cell phone battery was going to die and I began to feel desperate. I called Scott and he called the airline to see what flight I could take. There were no more flights going to Savannah until Sunday! The wedding would be over by then. I wanted out of Chicago, and I didn't care where I ended up. I couldn't get anywhere. The only option was to fly back to Sacramento. I couldn't believe there weren't any other options. The airline couldn't even get my on a flight with another airline. It was Sacramento or nothing. So I waited and I waited. If this flight cancelled, I would be stuck in Chicago for two days! The flight was delayed four times before leaving at Midnight. Only to get me back home at 2 am, where I started nearly 24 hours before. I still can't quite get my head aroud the fact that I'm missing the wedding. I can't understand how, in this day and age, it is impossible for me to get to where I need to be. I can't really understand why I went through an absolutley horrible day yesterday, only to return right back to where I started. The picture below is a very meaningful braclet I wore yesterday. I wore it for the bride, who made it for me a few years ago to represent all that God had done in our lives. It represents the fact that we can trust God and believe that God is who He says He is, and we are who God says we are. We can trust God's promises and His Word. We can believe God, and we can trust Him even when we don't know what is going on. My friend has believed God to bring her a husband, and now after waiting so long, they will be married tomorrow. I too can testify to God's goodness in my life. He has provided for my needs, and he has used the good and the bad times to draw me closer to Him. God provided a supportive husband at home to fill me with encouragement and love when I called crying on the phone. He provided people in the airport to talk with and be encouraged by. He provided a way to get out of Chicago -( on the last United flight of the day by the way) He even provided a kind man to let me use his cell phone when mine was about to die. This bracelet was a constant reminder to me yesterday that God is in control, and no matter what happened, I could trust Him. (Even if I was going to be stuck in Chicago for two days!) I don't always understand why things happen, but I do trust that He knows, and His way is perfect. I am so dissapointed to miss the wedding, and not be able to stand up with my friend as she is married. But I trust the Lord, and I believe that His plan is perfect... He hasn't failed me yet. Now I trust Him with my luggage, as I hope and pray it gets back to me. Until then, I will wear less make-up and I will have to hand-dry my hair.
