Foiled Plans

On Saturday morning I left to fly to Dallas to meet three of my best friends from high school (pictured above). One lives in Dallas and the others live in Charlotte and Seattle. We haven't all been together for over 20 years.

The catalyst in all this was that the Dallas Cowboys were hosting the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and Walt, our friend in Dallas had tickets to the game. The three out-of-towners all booked our flights to come in Saturday morning and to depart Sunday evening after the game which was scheduled for a Noon kickoff. We all were able to book our flights using frequent flier miles so things were working out very well.

We were all very excited to see each other and to check out Dallas' new stadium.

A week ago today, Walt called me and said, "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we've got a great game to see this weekend (the game now had significant playoff implications). The bad news is that because it's such a great game the NFL has moved it to a 3:15 start." Not good. If we attended the game, we would all miss our flights home.

We all scrambled to try to look for different outgoing flights so we could see that game. It was not going to work for all of us, however, so we decided to stick with our original flights and just skip the game. Truthfully this wasn't a huge deal as the main thing we wanted to do was just get together, but it sure would have been nice to see the new stadium.

Saturday, I arrive in Dallas and find out that Walt had tickets to the Cotton Bowl which would also be played in Dallas' new stadium on the day of our arrival. So, we attended that game which was a lot of fun (Ole Miss beat Oklahoma State by the way). This worked out great for me as I am much more of a college football fan than pro anyway. Plus we got to marvel at this incredible stadium with the world's largest video screen (remember, they do everything BIG in Texas - it is 160' X 72').

The entire weekend was fantastic and last night I began my journey home. At the airport in Dallas I asked the attendant at the counter if there was anything available in an exit row. She said there was not. For those who don't know me, I'm 6'8" tall and I don't really fit in a regular coach seat. I could not remember the last time I didn't have an exit row or bulkhead seat so I was not looking forward to this flight.

After entering the plane, I folded up my legs and got in my seat and after we were in the air a few minutes began a conversation with a very nice lady sitting next to me. Well, we ended up talking the entire flight which totally distracted me from my uncomfort.

There were quite a few connections between us. She is an author, I'm an author. She is involved in ministry, I'm involved in ministry. She is a business owner, I'm a business owner. It went on and on. The flight seemed to take no time at all.

In retrospect, I can now see why God did not make a way for me to change my seats--I would have missed this "divine appointment."

This whole weekend, from the football game situation to my flight was a great reminder to me that I need to stop complaining about circumstances and trust that God knows what is best for me.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6