It all began with a little bit of bad weather. Not widespread, intense storms, just a few thundershowers here and there. But it was enough to delay our departure from Tyler to Dallas, and that is where it all started. Jeff and I were heading to Minneapolis for a weekend of fun and relaxation that would precede a business trip, and we had started the day feeling excited about reaching our destination.
A slight delay, some minor bad weather - that would not put a damper on our day - no sirree! As we sat in the Tyler terminal that morning awaiting our delayed plane, we got a text message from Becca - she had an appointment that morning with the oral surgeon who had removed her wisdom teeth a few weeks ago, because she was still having some pain. We didn't figure it was anything serious, but Becca's text told a different story. Simply put, she said, "it's infected - he has to open it back up, irrigate it, and pack it." To me, this was worse than a bad weather delay, and my first impulse was to forget frolicking in Minnesota - I needed to go home and take care of Becca! She assured me she was ok - she was headed to the pharmacy to pick up her antibiotic, as well as a prescription pain reliever. But as we boarded our plane, my heart was staying behind, concerned about my girl.
Once we landed in Dallas, we had less than 5 minutes to disembark our American Eagle flight, travel from terminal D to terminal C, and board our flight from DFW to Minneapolis. In our haste to get there, I tripped over a crutch that was sticking out from a seating area, and fell flat on my face. It was not my proudest moment - in fact, I was glad that the people who witnessed it will likely never see me again. I gathered up what was left of my pride, and we quickly continued on to our gate, only to be told that the plane we were ticketed for had just departed.
We found a ticket agent, who told us she would put us on standby for the next direct flight at 2:40 from DFW to Minneapolis, but that since it was full, she would also confirm us on a later evening flight. As another buffer, she also booked us on a flight from DFW to Chicago, where we could make a connection to Minneapolis. She said she did that because more weather was expected to roll in, and she wanted to "get us out of Dallas ASAP." We hurried on to our gate where we were on standby for the direct 2:40 flight, being a little more vigilant this time to watch out for objects protruding from seating areas. If we could get on that flight, just maybe we would make it to Minneapolis in time for the dinner river cruise we had booked for that evening.
Just as we sat down at that gate to catch our breath and examine bruises from my fall, I got a frantic phone call from Becca. She had accidentally failed to completely close the door going from the house into the garage, and the dogs - Buster, our 15 year old Dachshund, and Brinkley, her 1 year old mix - had taken full advantage of Becca's mistake, made while she was under the influence of narcotic pain relievers, and they were gone - off on a grand doggy adventure. Becca was wandering the streets of our neighborhood, looking for the dogs, and in quite a state of hydrocodone influenced panic - if you know Becca, you know how much she loves her little Brinkley!
Having visions of Buster and Brinkley as road kill, and feeling completely helpless as we sat in the airport in Dallas, Jeff called a couple of friends to try to help her, and fortunately Becca found the dogs quickly before the help could get there. With that catastrophe averted, we were told by the ticket agent that we would not have seats on the 2:40 flight, so we quickly headed over to the terminal for the outbound flight to Chicago. The ticket agent who had booked us on that flight had put us in first class - so even though we were weary both mentally and physically from the day's events, we were treated to first class perks once we finally boarded the flight.
We arrived in Chicago, and quickly headed to the gate for the connection to Minneapolis that was scheduled to leave at 6:53, moving a little more slowly as the soreness from my fall had firmly set in. But, guess what . . . more bad weather. We ended up not leaving Chicago until 9 p.m.. Once we finally arrived in Minneapolis, we were able to avoid the long line we saw at the car rental kiosk thanks to Jeff's "Emerald Aisle" membership, hop in a car, and leave quickly, arriving at our B&B at 11 p.m. - about 6 hours later than we had planned. Needless to say, we missed our dinner cruise.
Even though our day did not go as planned, we had several nice little surprises thrown in throughout the struggles. First of all, we were able to fly to our destination. Air travel has become so commonplace, that we take the convenience for granted. And, for most of our air travel time, we were in first class, where we had more leg room, wider seats, warm wash cloths, blankets, and a good meal on real plates - all as a "gift" from the airline. Likewise, when Becca had her moment of panic, we had several friends we could call who were willing to drop everything to go to her aid. When we landed in Minneapolis, our luggage was already there (probably many hours before we were), and we didn't have to wait for a conveyor belt to bring it to us - we were able to grab it and go.
We were very weary when we arrived on Friday night, but after a good night's sleep in a nice B&B, and an awesome breakfast the next morning, we were happy to be at our final destination. It turned out to be a beautiful day on Saturday, filled with sights, sounds, and tastes that were worth all of the trouble from the previous day. Then on Sunday we were able to gather with other Christians where we were edified by praising our God together with them. The trouble of our journey may have even served to help us appreciate our arrival even more.
While thinking back on the journey of the previous weekend, it made me think of the analogy of life. We've all heard that "life is a journey," and I believe that's true. Life is full of weather delays, tripping and falling, bumps and bruises, getting back up, continuing on, painful procedures, concern over family members, lost dogs, and overbooked planes. But scattered in among all of that we find convenience, comfort, love and support of friends, leg room, warm blankets, good food, and comfortable beds. We find that the pain and obstacles along our journey of life are the very things that make us appreciate the sunshine and joys of life even more.
And one day we will reach our final destination. Now this is where the analogy kind of loses its punch. Because as beautiful as Minnesota is in late August, it cannot compare (sorry, Trish!) with the final destination I am looking forward to at the end of this journey of life - a home in heaven with my God. 1 Peter 2:11 describes us as pilgrims and sojourners here on this earth, and that's the way I need to view life each day. So I will continue to take this journey with the good and the bad, thankful for both, as I await my arrival at the final destination - that home of the soul.
Go read Revelation 21 - 22. The beautiful description of heaven in that passage is where I'm going, and I sure hope to see you there. I know that no matter what happens on this journey to that destination, it will all be worth it. And much better than Minnesota.
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