Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Carter and I were scheduled to come home from Colorado yesterday at 6:50 pm but when we got to the airport early, we found out that our flight had been bumped back 20 minutes at least.  Being at the airport 3 hours early and having to wait longer was not something that I was planning for, so I checked for an earlier flight and sure enough, there was a flight at 5 pm getting into Phoenix at 6 pm.  We put our names in for standby and we were the last ones chosen to fly standby.  When you get to come home early, I didn’t care that it was going to be a middle seat (I hate middle seats, side note).  We got off the plane and went to the baggage area to pick up our luggage and waited and waited.  Little did my brain register that no one would know that we were going to get on this plane and that our checked baggage would be routed into the plane we were scheduled to fly.  With my keen mind I realized this when the baggage rounder stopped and the sign said all bags had been delivered.  I was wanting to speed up my travel process, but there were some things that would take their natural course of getting there–our bags.  We came back 2 hours later and sure enough our bags were there.

There is a lesson here somewhere.  Sometimes we are in a hurry to speed up life, but God has a different time table.  In Psalm 40:1-2  David experienced a life where he had times of trials and struggles wanting the plan to speed up.  What he realized is that patience was the key to a changed perspective.  “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”   I was wanting to get home and get settled in, unpack my bags, and get ready for the work week.  God had other plans.  He provided some time for us to go get a bite to eat.  He gave us time to get home and get Carter over to a friend’s house to stay the night (Carter had been gone for 2 weeks and was chomping at the bit to get with his friends}.  His plans are right and true.  His plans sometimes cut into our plans and timeframes which create conflict and stress.  There may be times of frustration or tears when His plans and our plans conflict.  Waiting patiently and opening our eyes to His perspective can change our emotions and our stress level.  It is our choice to look at whats happening in our lives at any particular moment that opens the door to experiencing patience in the midst of life.

On this journey, there will be times when we are called upon to slow down and wait patiently for His plan to emerge.