You would think after the last story I shared, I would make more of an effort going to God first. Asking Him what His desire is for direction; opposed to coming up with my own direction (my own next steps) then asking God to bless accordingly. Welp, I didn’t. And as usual, just as He so gently does, He reminded me who is really in control. He is the One who orchestrates everything, I mean the winds and the waves obey Him; Mark 4:39.
Damión’s conference tournament game was in Alfred, New York and because the weather is very unpredictable in NY at the end of February, we made the decision to fly. I was actually excited about flying, I only paid ~$200 per person, roundtrip from Friday through Monday. This was also in alignment with the tournament schedule. The first game was Saturday and the conference championship Sunday (they were projected to win it all). Keep all this information in mind, it is all relevant.
Just to paint the picture of where we were, we flew in to Rochester, NY, the hotel was in Geneseo, NY (about 40 miles), and the games were in Alfred (another 50 minutes). All, except for Rochester, extremely desolate places in New York; which basically means I have to go back to truly mark is off of my travel bucket list. But hey, this is Damión’s Sr. year!
We flew in and headed for the hotel. No big plans on Friday, just to relax and prepare for the game the following day. Later that evening, I went out to the lobby and the hotel manager asked what brought us to the city. I explained to him about the conference tournament, you know small talk. He went further to tell me the weather was expected to bring 70-75mph winds and for us to be careful while traveling on the road…. WAIT WHAT? But I will be honest, I didn’t really believe it. I barely believe what I am told…I like to see it to believe it. Hmmm, just a small plug. Faith is believing God’s word and acting upon what He says. Note, without faith, it is impossible to please God; Hebrews 11:6. Besides, God’s word isn’t the same as man’s word, you can believe Him, His word never returns void; Isaiah 55:11.
Saturday came and we set out for the game. No bad weather, no wild winds, so of course, that validated my seeing is believing. Unfortunately, we lost the first game and toiled during the evening whether to forego the flight and head home Sunday morning. Remember, our return flight was not to depart until Monday…and it was Saturday. Saturday in the most desolate part of New York, may I add.
As I was eating breakfast Sunday, the weather did a major shift. It was a dark overcast, rain was slowly changing to snow, and you could hear the wind blowing. Basically, the hotel manager was spot on; he was just off on the timing. There are way more points of God here, so walk with me. Even though there may seem to be a delay in your prayers, your healing, your deliverance, your whatever, know God is always on time; Habakkuk 2:3. When we receive a word from the Lord, get ready…He’s coming. We ended up staying in the hotel for the day, watching TV, spending time with the Lord and of course keeping an eye out on the news for the weather. While watching the news, the weatherwoman urged all to monitor flights as quite a few had been canceled.
So here we were Sunday night, we hadn’t left NY, waiting on a Monday departure, the weather is playing with my emotions, and flights are being canceled. I immediately go into action. I called the airlines inquiring about our outgoing flight to CVG (Cincinnati). After 2 transfers and being on hold, customer service advised our flight had not been cancelled and they were hopeful it would not be, seeing we were not leaving till the following day (Monday). We had a rental car and I wanted to have a backup plan in case our flight was canceled; we could head out in the morning. I called Alamo to rearrange our reservation and get a quote for drop off at CVG. After 3 transfers, hold for 20 minutes, and speaking with an agent for 50 minutes, I was told driving the current vehicle was not an option. You see with God there is no backup plan; Exodus 20:3. But because I had done things in my own will (leaned on my own understanding; Proverbs 3:5), not bringing in the Lord in my circumstance, I was exhausted, frustrated, and disappointed. The only thing left to do…go to bed! And I went.
MONDAY!!! Oh Monday, time to go home!! I was overly excited cause I am going home! We packed, got in the car, and as soon as we approached the end of the hotel parking lot to get on the road…I received an alert from my phone. FLIGHT CANCELED! To bring this lengthy story to a close, we ended up renting another vehicle and drove home…approximately 9 hours. WHEW!
What is the purpose of all the details I shared? I am so glad you asked. There were many opportunities I had to invite God in, but I didn’t. We often think God only cares about the “big” things, not the small things. This is far from the truth, for God is interested in every detail of our life. The bible says, He knows the very number of hairs on your head; Matthew 10:30. Now if God knows how many hairs are on our head, He cares about the intricate details. There are no “big” thing or “little” thing, God created and holds ALL things (visible and invisible) in the palm of His hands, including us; Colossians 1:16-17. Let Him in!
