PERFECT TIMING
I set three alarms that morning.
Three.
6:00 AM . 6:15 AM . 6:30 AM.
I am the queen of snooze, so multiple alarms are definitely necessary for a person like me.
I needed to pick my Dad up from the airport by 7:30 AM.
You know that feeling you get in the morning when you look out your window and you can tell by how the sky looks that you overslept?
I immediately knew I overslept.
Between not being able to fall asleep until 3:00 AM, and my unconscious ability to turn off my alarms as they go off, I did not wake up that morning until 7:18 AM.
At that moment, I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, my head scarf , my glasses, my coat, my mask, grabbed my purse, and ran out the door.
As I was walking to my car, I noticed how other cars in the parking lot had ice on their windows. I thought to myself, Lord, please do not let my windshield have ice on it.
It did.
I remember asking God for some sort of delay of the flight. Whether it was a delayed start in unloading the bags, or a delay in the passengers exiting the plane, I just wanted some sort of reasonable and safe delay.
My Dad had took a red-eye flight; he boarded the plane at midnight. I knew he would be extremely tired , so I did not want to cause any irritation that morning whatsoever. I am also a very timely person for the most part, so when I am late, especially if it impacts other people, I feel terrible.
I started my car and frantically scraped my windshield just enough to get by. When I finally got in my car, I could barely see out of my windshield, but I drove off anyway.
Immediately, I told myself that I would not let the fear of disappointing my Dad and being late override my safety, and even the safety of others.
I pulled over on the side of the street and scraped the rest of my window.
Finally, I was able to see clearly. A few moments later, I was driving down the highway towards the airport. As soon as I entered the highway, my Dad texted me at 7:32 AM:
At that point, all I could do was apologize and take my time.
Did I mention my GPS rerouted me due to construction?
The typical people pleaser in me would have went against my norm of following the speed limit just to arrive a bit sooner. As I was driving, I felt extremely empowered to stay calm and let things be.
I refused to rush.
At 7:48 AM, my Dad texted me again:
When I saw the text, my mind was blown. I said out loud with excitement, "It is just like God that I will arrive to the destination at the exact moment that Daddy gets his bag!"
I believed it.
I arrived to the airport at 7:54 AM. I still had not received a call or text from my Dad stating that he had his bags. I headed towards what I thought was the cell phone lot where family and friends stay momentarily while they wait for their loved ones to get their bags. The night before, my Dad told me to be sure to wait in the lot since I could not stall and wait at the gate considering it is a pick-up-and-go area only.
Somehow, I ended up in a garage that clearly was not the cell phone lot.
There was an attendant in the garage, and I told him I was looking for the cell phone lot. He directed me on where to go. While leaving the garage, I was so confused because I am directionally challenged lol, and I could not figure out how to exit the garage with all the construction signs.
Finally, I made it out of the garage.
I found my way to the cell phone lot. I started to park my car, but at the exact moment when I placed myself in park, I received a call from my Dad at 8:04 stating he had finally received his luggage.
There are so many valuable lessons I captured that morning in a span of approximately 45- minutes: lessons about faith, believing in what you ask for, and speaking God's word in all situations.
The lesson that resonates with me the most is how personal detours in our lives have no authority over God's timing.
He is the creator of time, so surely he transcends it.
You can encounter detours along the way in life, yet still end up in the same place had you not encountered detours.
By the look of things that morning, all of the odds were stacked against me:
1. ) I did not fall asleep until 3:00 AM.
2.) I set three alarms and slept through all of them.
3.) I woke up about 15 minutes before the time I needed to arrive at the airport.
4.) There was a good amount of ice on my windshield. I scraped most of it off.
5.) I pulled over to scrape the rest of it off.
6.) My GPS rerouted me due to construction.
7.) I went to a parking garage instead of the cell phone lot.
8.) I went the wrong direction in the garage.
God defies odds.
Not only does God defy the odds, but he can also use the odds to show you he is God.
Imagine if my windshield was clear that morning.
Imagine if my GPS did not reroute me.
Imagine if I went to the cell phone lot initially, instead of the garage.
Imagine if I rushed instead of remaining calm and taking my time.
If everything went according to my plan, I would have never arrived to my destination at the exact moment my Dad called.
The timing would have been completely off, and I would have missed the whole lesson.
Everything truly happens for a reason.
God can even bless our detours even when we fall short.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28