“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:19)

Have you ever made a mistake and for an unexplained reason, God showed you the error and prevented serious consequences? Well, I have. In truth, I expect His intervention because I have experienced it frequently. He has kept me from many a problem.

Greetings Ladies. Last Monday I went to the airport. The day had already had a bump or two in it. I was not shaken, but I was weary. I just kept reaching forward toward my immediate destiny which was to board the first plane heading east, then far east.

I will spare you the suspense if you do not already know. I did not fly. There was a mistake and it was totally mine. Utter carelessness. I am not sure why, but I had in my mind that my flight was just after 10 PM.  It was actually just after 8PM. I was at the airport early; had I been 30 minutes earlier I could have made the flight. But I cannot relive it repeatedly, but I want to learn from it.

Because the missed flight was not due to traffic or because of the fault of someone else, I had to rebook and pay for the first part of my round-trip ticket again. Very painful. Did I learn a lesson? I surely hope so. I knew exactly what my mistake was – experience and over-confidence. I have flown frequently for over 40 years and I just know how to do things. I checked and double-checked tickets, documents, Covid tests and so on, but somehow I had in my mind that I was leaving at 10; I did not double-check that.  Safely, I can tell you – never again.

What I learned was more than being more careful in the future with flight details. The root of this problem began when I squeezed too many things into my schedule. When we do this, mistakes are bound to happen. I’ve had many hours since to ponder this. An extended frenetic pace is an invitation to mistakes.

I lost more than money with this mistake. I was embarrassed and I was late for a journey I have been looking forward to. 

It is a funny thing about grace; I think a part of me wanted to fall apart and dissolve into tears. None came, but instead resolve to move forward. As much as for my own inconvenience, I’d  inconvenienced my own Ormsby family; Joshua was most gracious. He called it a trial run! Grace abounds!

As we drove home, a friend caught wind of what happened and offered to pick me up at the airport. I am blessed. As well, I confessed to my pastor who had been texting me to remind me that they’d been praying and would continue throughout the journey. When you do something like this, there is no way to keep it a secret! 

He graciously reminded me that the Lord orders my steps. And, yes, I have considered that there might have been a very good reason that the Lord did not show me my error… and it may be as simple as a big reminder to “be still” more often. 

I determined not to mope for the next 2 days awaiting my rebooked flight. I was packed and had time to rest, so I was not harried leaving on Wednesday as I was on Monday. On Tuesday, I finished a big project that I was carrying with me to India, not at all sure when I’d get to it! That was a benefit! Wednesday morning I was able to do a few things that were a blessing to others, yet not be crunched for time. 

Already I was feeling better. And my departure was an absolute breeze. I passed another Covid test, visited with the Ormsby family in the airport, then went through security breezily. Anytime you can describe security checks as breezy, you know something is going right!

God is kind; He allowed this to happen and I am pressing on. I have accepted what responsibility is mine and I know He will handle the details if I let Him!

And so, I have arrived, hopefully wiser. 

I am the worst with jet lag, but last night I actually slept a good part of the night. India offered me some melatonin tablets and they absolutely worked! I have tried prescription sleeping aids in the past; they did not help at all. My body overruled them and stayed on their own schedule. I will try them again tonight. Imagine getting over jet lag within a week; that would be miraculous!

While I will teach on several topics while here, my weekly focus will be character traits. This will be a new sort of approach. Many of the women know their Bible stories, but over the next few months we will talk about applying what we have learned to our personal character, led by examples given us in God’s Word.

The theme is this:  “A gracious woman retaineth honour.” And don’t we all want that?

The best learning I had came from teaching. Corrie ten Boom.