Obstacles = Opportunities

 

Hi everyone! I’m at launch in Gainesville, Georgia! After quite the traveling experience, I finally arrived at launch on Friday night! It has been so great so far, but I wanted to share with y’all how God had been working even before I arrived on the base!

No one wants complications while traveling. Traveling is stressful enough without the need to add complications to the mix. I don’t know about y’all, but when I pray over either my trip or someone else’s, I usually ask for “smooth travels” or “please, no problems”. When I ask, I kind of expect Him to provide in the ways I had asked. Sometimes he does; sometimes He doesn’t. It can be annoying when He does things differently, and well, I’m gonna be honest with y’all right here and right now. I was so frustrated when my travels weren’t “smooth” or “problem-free” like I prayed them to be, and I was not as accepting to His plan…

Obstacles

It’s four hours until my flight leaves from Fargo, ND. My family and I were in Fargo already, enjoying some time together before I leave for eleven months. Something was bothering me in the back of my mind all day, but I couldn’t quite place it, so I wrote it off as just nerves. We were at the store, when it finally hit me: I never got an email telling me it is time to check in for my flight. I always check in ahead of time, so I pulled up my emails to look for it. Nowhere to be found. Instead, I found an email saying that my flight was cancelled. I received credit, so I looked to see if there were any flights I can hop on. They didn’t have any more flights until January 14th. I started looking at other flights. The cheapest flight flying out of Grand Forks or Fargo was over $500. I was starting to feel a little panicky now. I found that I could fly out of Minneapolis for only $200, so we decided to do that.

The airport is 5+ hours away, so my dad and I left right away. Thankfully, we got to the airport with no problems, and everything went smoothly as I got onto my second booked flight. We were on the runway about to take off when the pilot lets us know that the plane is having hydraulic issues and that we need to return to the gate. I had a connecting flight with a two-hour layover, so I wasn’t as concerned yet. He continued to give us updates every 15 minutes. As the time ticked on, the more impatient I became. Two hours went by, and I received an email letting me know that I can reschedule my connecting flight. I took the soonest one which was several hours later, which also means I was going to miss my shuttle to the mission base as well. Now, I was getting really irritated, but peace washed over me. Half an hour later, we finally were able to fly, and we arrive in Charlotte with no more problems.

A few hours later, I’m waiting at the gate for my next flight. I had tried checking in for this new flight, but I kept getting an error. Without checking in, I couldn’t get my ticket to get onto the plane. I went to customer service, and fortunately, was able to get my ticket. Now, it was almost the scheduled takeoff time, and we haven’t even begun boarding yet. They’ve given us no updates, and we are all wondering what’s going on. Finally, we get an update letting us know that there is a ground stop in Atlanta, and no planes going to Atlanta were allowed to leave until further notice. We didn’t end up having to wait much longer. We were all boarded and taking off about 45 minutes later.

I land in Atlanta (surprisingly only 15 minutes late) feeling so grateful to finally be here. I go to get my luggage, and it never came through. At this point, I’m not even surprised. I take a deep breath, say another prayer, and I go and talk to the baggage claim. They said that my luggage ended up on my original connected flight (which still doesn’t make sense to me because I thought we had landed after that plane left) and that it will come out on a different luggage carousel. Thankfully, I found the right one with my luggage, and AIM sent someone to pick me up. After 31 hours, I finally arrived onto the base!

Opportunities

I know it sounds like it was a terrible day, and it did cause me some stress. But I was also blessed in so many ways that I wouldn’t have considered it a bad day. Instead, I choose to consider it the beginning of a beautiful adventure with my Father.

Each obstacle became an opportunity for my Father to show up. My travel day created many opportunities for my Father to remind me that He is with me and that He is continually faithful. He knew what I needed better than I knew what I needed, and He provided every time!

1. I needed to get to launch, and He got me there!
2. I needed a new (preferrably cheaper) plane ticket, and He provided one in Minneapolis!
3. I needed a ride to the airport, and He provided one through my dad!
4. With less than 4 hours of sleep in 48 hours, I needed sleep, and He provided extra time on the plane during the delay!
5. I needed a new connecting flight that still got me to Atlanta by the end of the day, and He provided not one but several options – without being put on standby!
6. I was running late with another delay, but He provided a speedy pilot that shaved off 30 minutes of flight time!
7. On my unexpected new plane, He provided an opportunity for me to share about my trip to the nice girl in the seat next to me! He also gave me the opportunity to bless her when she needed help!
8. I thought I had lost my luggage, but He simply provided it in an unexpected spot!
9. Whenever I needed help (getting my tickets and my luggage), He provided assistance through many kind people!
10. When I needed a new ride to the mission base, He provided one!
11. Whenever I felt overwhelmed or frustrated, He provided peace and the constant reminder that He is with me!

All my obstacles turned out to be ELEVEN opportunities for my Father to show up! What a good Father we have! He loves us so much, and will always be with us. I forget sometimes, but He wanted to show up and remind me that He is on this journey with me! Not just for travel days. Not even just for the World Race. But for the rest of my life! And thanks to Him and His love for me, I can confidently walk into this new adventure with Him knowing He is by my side each step of the way!

I challenge y’all to invite Him to walk with you every day. I’m challenging myself as well! He wants to include you in His plans but you have to be open to His presence in your life. Let your obstacles become opportunities for God to show up!