Journal: #273 Travel Day, Take 2
I knew the weather in Georgia was extreme before I left to go to the Columbia Metro Airport yesterday afternoon. I knew it, and yet I didn’t think it would cause me any delays to my return to Redding. Why didn’t I connect the dots (my Delta flight went through Atlanta)? I just didn’t. So, after a series of delays, a hurried boarding, and another delay, we deplaned. Then they cancelled the flight, straight up. It made me laugh, because what else could I do? It’s not as though Delta didn’t try, and tornadoes are not joke. They did their best. Time for plan B.
Plan B put me on a plane at 7:30 AM this morning. Once again, as all Delta flights to south are, I was routed through Atlanta. Everything in Columbia went as planned. Step one complete. In Atlanta, the storm clouds gathered to the west. As we did the day before, we boarded out flight bound for Sacramento with great haste. Unlike the day before we got off the ground. Our pilot was determined, and flew south to avoid the storms. The flight took an hour longer than normal, but I finally arrived in California 14 hours later than planned. I call it a success given the situation and my prayers go out the those suffering from the storms.
For no good reason, I feel a new season is upon me. The delay in my return to Redding reminded me of how I first arrived in Redding. On March 1st, 2014 my flight from Chicago to Redding was cancelled due to engine problems. I spent the night in a hotel, and finally made it to Redding late the next day. I arrived clueless, but clinging to an idea. I believed the Lord held something good for me in California. Today, I have that same sense. The difference is I know the Lord has good things for me this summer.
My first year in Redding the Lord asked me to trust Him, which I did in spurts. For three or four months stretches, I leaned into the Holy Spirit and lived the best life I could. Then the hype faded, and I wandered away from my pursuit of the kingdom. Jesus was my best friend, but I treated Him like an Emergency Room. When I read through my old journals, He message never changed. He remained the patient teacher despite my inability to listen. Last summer I made my full commitment to pursue the Him every single day. And now, I’m here.
Where is here, you probably wonder. Here is the other side of me, the life Jesus always held for me. Gone are the deeps shames and self-denial. They’re replaced with endurance, faith, and love. I’m not perfect, but I don’t expect to be. I have doubts, but they are signs I’m moving in the right way. Rough days and weeks happen. Some of my relationships are in shambles, and I rarely go through an entire day without anxiety. But, I’m still here. I’m still writing and walking, praying and believing. I am weathering the storms. And, when they are too tough to endure, I hunker down to try again the next day.
I’ve got a destiny in Jesus. My only path is forward.
