Plan C

It wasn't supposed to happen like it did. But, it did.
My husband said it just seems too good to be true. And it was.
We were cautiously optimistic about getting out on a space A flight to Hawaii for mid-winter break. There was a flight going out Saturday morning, showtime was 11am. It seemed perfect.
We called several times throughout the night to be sure the flight wasn't suddenly cancelled or showtime moved back. As of 7am, it was still on. We took our time with our final packing, played around a bit, ran an errand, and Mike called again at 10am, just to reconfirm. That's when we were told, "Oh, that flight left about 15 minutes ago." Shocked doesn't begin to tell you how we felt. Flights are canceled, delayed, broken down, but they don't leave 3 1/2 hours EARLIER than scheduled!
The kids cried, I wanted to cry but figured I was too old to cry, and we packed the car and headed to California. Mike called a few friends who checked the schedule of flights leaving out of Travis AFB, which is a 12 hour drive from our house. At the time, there were 3 flights leaving for Hawaii on Sunday.
We drove through the night (totally naive to the fact that we would drive through several mountain passes with potential for great driving hazards this time of year). We arrived at apx 1am; checked in at the terminal, helped a very distraught military wife (she had come home from Alaska for her grandmother's funeral, driven 1,000 miles roundtrip to the funeral and back to Travis, and had been trying to get a flight back to Alaska for a week now. She showed up for the flight at 1am, only to be told the flight had removed all seats to add more cargo. She folded her official documents, sobbed while she phoned her husband and told him about the flight, wheeled her huge suitcase over to a seat, held her two small children and cried and cried.
We finished checking in and Mike and I loaded her, her luggage, and her children into the van and drove them back to the hotel, where, thankfully, she was able to get back into her room. Her next chance to get a flight would be in two days.
We slept in the terminal, too afraid that if we went to a hotel, the flight would leave us again. At 7.40am the first flight, which had only 10 seats, filled up. The next flight had 22 seats. We couldn't believe that when they got to our names on the list, they had 3 seats left. We needed 5.
More tears, plan B hadn't worked, onto plan C.
Mallory wanted to go home. Lydia wanted to go to Palm Springs. I still wanted to go cry.
We got the map out and ended up heading towards Palm Springs. We decided to make a fun day of it. We drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, stopped by Golden Gate Seminary, had lunch at In N Out, and made it to Bakersfield, where we fell into bed, having now been awake for almost 36 hours.
The next day we hiked up to the Hollywood sign, met a family from Puyallup! (just up the road from us here in Washington:) got yelled at from a loud speaker telling us to "GET OFF THE MOUNTAIN. YOU ARE TRESPASSING. GET OFF THE MOUNTAIN NOW!"
We quickly got off the mountain, took a few pictures, and headed to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Dr. After a quick tour there, we GPS'd Chick Fil A, followed the directions east and grabbed our favorite food on our way to Palm Springs.
We really did have a great time. The resort was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The first night there, the girls made friends at the hot tub that they hung out with the whole week. We swam, laid out, read, slept in, floated in the lazy river, shopped and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.
We enjoyed the drive home and made great memories along the way. Our poor van thought she was driving us to the terminal two miles from our house and instead, 2,900 miles later, brought us safely back to Washington!
We don't understand why God didn't allow us to make it to Hawaii. Someday we may find out. Perhaps we will never know. Disappointment still creeps in occasionally when we think of how things should have worked out.
We have much to be grateful for, even with Plan C.

We have much to be grateful for, even with Plan C.

Genesis 3.21

As with each new year, one of my goals is to read my Bible daily. And for obvious reasons, I usually start in Genesis.
We were talking in a small group last week about how God's Word is active and alive and speaks to us differently according to where we are and the circumstances we face during that specific season. We may read a verse or passage many times and it not really speak to us, and then all of a sudden, it becomes an "AHA" moment. Such is the verse above.
As I read it this time, God unveiled one of His characteristics like I'd never seen before. The story is a familiar one. Adam and Eve are in the Garden, the serpent persuades Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She does, she gives some to Adam and thus, the first sin is committed. The "aha" moment came when I realized that after God confronts them and sadly explains the consequences of their sin, "The Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife." (Gen. 3.21)
Knowingly disappointed with His creation, His pride and joy,  the very first thing He does is provide a covering for them, taking care of them and showing them The Father's love.
When I sin, I grieve The Father. I know He is disappointed and that there are likely consequences to my sin. However, clothed in the character of Grace, He gives me what I don't deserve...right away, He lavishly loves me and extends kindness to me, just like He did for Adam and Eve.
Thank you, God, for this AHA moment, and the truth that it reveals.

Now what?

Just an update for those of you who are curious...
I went back for my hair appt today with tattoo girl. She told me her story and was very friendly, accommodating, and did a great job on my hair!! I will definitely go back! Perhaps the lesson is that sometimes people need a second chance?

Really??

Today I ended up very glad that God’s ways are not my ways. I started out at a hair appointment and ended up at a tea room…

I had a coupon to try a new salon. From the moment I stepped inside, I wasn’t very impressed. While the salon itself is very cute, kind of quirky and retro, the totally tattooed owner was on the phone with an unsatisfied customer and she was basically telling her that there was really nothing she could do for her. Really? And she is the owner?

She was polite but intimidating and after an initial consult with me, decided she hadn’t blocked enough time for me and I would have to come back another day. Really? Because I have this coupon I purchased, I decided I would book another appt for another day.

I walked out and realized I had just paid for two hours of parking and had nothing else to do in downtown Tacoma. Really? I decided to drive towards Old Town in hopes of uncovering a hidden treasure I hadn’t previously happened upon in this area.

I parked by the waterfront, laced up my tennies and grabbed my Helly Hansen, since drizzling rain was in the forecast.In Washington?  Really?  I do love all of the places nearby where you can walk along the waterfront and take in the mountains on all sides.

As I walked along this particular stretch, I noticed up ahead a Chinese-looking structure. I’ve never walked this path before but as I got closer, I realized it was a park that was under construction. After reading the markers along the trail, I learned that it was called the Walk for Reconciliation, a symbolic walk to commemorate the 125^th anniversary of the expulsion of the Chinese community in Tacoma. Google it for more information, but basically in 1885, when Tacoma’s economy was failing, a group of 15 men blamed it on the Chinese workers in the city. They gave them a deadline to be out of the city and those who didn’t comply were forcibly put on a train and sent to Portland. Really?

As I walked on I pondered the facts and tried to imagine those poor families who were stripped of everything and sent off to another part of a totally foreign country.

 As I walked, I met many older tourists who were all out enjoying the sites and the mild climate of the day. They nodded, said hello, commented on what a beautiful day it was, and inspired me to want to be cheerful and pleasant when I get old:)

Perhaps the highlight of the morning was where I ended up. At the Hawthorne Tea Room. I've been here twice before; once with my PWOC board ladies for a Christmas tea, and another time with my dear friend, Kim. It's a lovely place with lovely people and delightful tea.I don't go many places by myself but I am learning to embrace "alone" time and look and listen closely for what God is trying to tell me. I walked up and down the street a few times before I got the courage to go in. I'm so glad I did. 

I ordered Lady Londonderry Tea, which I'd never tried before but I loved the name and wanted something new. I had a salad and completed my time with a triple berry scone and lemon curd. Yum. 

I sorted through coupons knowing that when my little "party" was over, I'd have to return to my real world. I sipped tea, pondered, eavesdropped (one of my favorite things to do, I confess), and thoroughly enjoyed my time all by myself. I left with a bounce in my step, said happy birthday to the girl sitting a few tables away, and thanked God that He ordered a morning for me that was just delightful. Really!

PWOC spring kick off 2011

Well, I prayed for a morning where God would be glorified, but I didn't expect it to unfold as it did.
I began praying fervently for Bambi yesterday at 3pm when she was going in for an MRI.
I prayed for that process and then began praying for her to speak to us today at our spring kick off. I prayed that her words would be those that God would use to encourage someone who came. I prayed for a calm heart and a spirit of peace to reign over her. I prayed that the details of the morning would come together in a way that would bring glory to God. I prayed for Sara to lead us to the throne of Grace in a way that would change us. I prayed that God would multiply the food. I prayed that each person who came would leave encouraged and with a new sense of hope. I prayed for a few specific women to be led by the Holy Spirit to give their hearts and lives to Him for the first time.
But I didn't pray that Bambi wouldn't lock herself out of her house and be stranded for almost 2 hours (in the rain) before someone came to rescue her. I also didn't pray for God to help me remember my cell phone so that when Bambi called me to tell me she was locked out and could I come by to get her (which was RIGHT on my way!), I would have been able to receive her call.
When I got to PWOC and realized what was taking place, several of us circled together and prayed for the morning, that God would, indeed, be glorified and that Bambi would make it quickly.
Praise and Worship time was amazing. The food and decorations were perfect. The women were so thirsty for fellowship that it was difficult to stop conversations at times. They were eager for the upcoming Bible studies. Bambi arrived with enough time to share her message, and God was glorified as she shared her testimony of living in brokenness, while The Heart Healer was pursuing her throughout her young life. It is a tribute to Jehovah Rapha, the Lord Who Heals, loving her lavishly and securing her heart for His purposes.
It was, indeed, a divine morning, even though it wasn't as we planned. Thank you, God, for proving again that Your ways are not ours, and that You choose to work in ways we don't understand. And help us to remember that You are God. And you continue to amaze us. Thank you, Lord.