Expect The Best
I always remember the big lessons in life. I remember them because they usually involve embarrassment due to my stubbornness. I remember December 18, 2019, because this was the case. I was leaving my beautiful California vacation for home, flying out of Santa Barbara to a connection in Salt Lake City the following day and on to Detroit.
Connecting flights make me nervous because the next gate is often in another terminal, and I'm afraid I'll miss my flight. The keyword here is fear. I don't sleep the night before and wake up every hour, worrying that I won't get home. Visions of the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles dance through my head. To make my anxiety even worse, I couldn't get a seat assignment when I checked in on my laptop earlier in the evening.
Sure enough, when I landed in Salt Lake City, I had to run from the far end of Terminal 1 to the far end of Terminal 2. Everyone was gathering to board the plane just as I arrived, and as a nervous traveler, I was impatient. My negative thoughts began to manifest, sending my anxiety into overdrive. To make this flight worse, it was a large plane with about seven different sections. I ended up in the 35th row near the back.
For someone with early arrival issues and claustrophobia, my mood was plunging. The funny thing is that my sister knew I was having anxiety the day before I left for home, so we both prayed that I would get a good seat on the plane and enjoy my flight.
When I looked at my seat assignment, 35E, I said, "Thanks a lot, Lord. Glad I prayed about it."
Yes, I was sarcastic with the Lord, something I later had to say I was sorry for because right as I said that, he said right back, "Just wait."
"Too late!" I groaned, "I already have a bad seat."
I became even more frustrated when I found a girl in my seat, 35E, sitting beside her friend in 35F. They proceeded to ask me if she could switch places with me. She explained that her seat, 19B, was much better near the front. I was visibly unhappy with them both! I could not see God in this!
"And how am I supposed to get back up there with all these people in the aisle?" I asked.
They stared at me and smiled. I was upset! I turned toward the front, found a stewardess to complain to, and then weaved my way around people trying to stow away their luggage. 19B, the seat I traded for, was much closer to the front, but it was still a middle seat, and I was still agitated. Slowly, as I regained control of my anger, I noticed that I was sitting in a much better seat than 35E, with a lovely man headed to Rome on my left and a nice lady heading back to Detroit on my right.
We got along well and returned home without any complications. As I waited for take-off, I remembered that the Lord had told me to "just wait." He knew I was going to get a better seat. He probably set the whole thing up so that it worked out for everyone concerned. Sitting there, I realized that if I had just listened to him and not had a meltdown, I would have been much kinder, especially to him. I felt sheepish, to put it mildly.
Seat 35E seemed like a done deal to me, but it wasn't. God had a switch in store, 19B, which was much better, even though I had no idea it was coming. I started thinking about how often I look at the 35Es in my life and probably miss the 19Bs. How often did I not expect anything better because I only believed what was right in front of my eyes?
I realized it was time to stop looking at the 35Es and start expecting the 19Bs in my life. Do you know the verse in Romans 7:15? Paul says, (For what I am doing, I do not understand, for I do not practice what I will to do, but I do the very thing I hate.) Boy, was that me on my way home. I was right there with Paul. I made a point of asking the Lord to forgive me for being so rude and to help me practice patience and to be a better traveler. Does this mean I will never act like anything but an angel from now on?
Probably not. I'm human, and I'll never be perfect, but God will always love me and show me grace amid my sins. This event convinced me that God likes to switch things up and answer our prayers when we think our situation is impossible. He wanted to do something nice for me, but I didn't have faith when I heard him say, "Just wait."
I must remember that we only see the physical world, but God operates in the supernatural realm. And he answers our prayers even when we misbehave. I got a good seat and had a lovely flight home, just as my sister had prayed. THAT'S GRACE! We must trust Him and expect the best for ourselves and our families. What a great truth to teach our children.
I hope my story helps you. To be helpful in the kingdom, we must be honest. God doesn't need fakes who pretend never to make mistakes, but real people who make genuine errors so that we can testify of God's love and forgiveness. I wonder if he sometimes doesn't roll his eyes at me. I know I do!!!
Have a good day!
Denise
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