Last night I gave myself permission to sleep in. This is something I should never do because those are always the mornings I am wide awake at 5 a.m. and this is especially true if the morning I’m going to sleep in is a Saturday. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I decided to get up and pray and set some intentions for the day. This is how I both try to turn my day over to God and take control of it at the same time. Turning over my day is hard work, but well worth it.
For instance, I should be in Florida this morning. A quick weekend getaway with my husband before the chaos of the new school year kicks into gear. A couple months ago he proposed the idea and it came together so easily. The fare was cheap. Really cheap. The idea of spending time in our “retirement” home together, just the two of us, had once seemed unattainable for years to come but a quick jaunt this past January showed us it was possible. We are so very lucky to have someone to entrust our son with to make this a nearly carefree decision.
And then came Dorian. She has been brutal and destructive, particularly in the Bahamas and has messed up other people’s plans in a much worse way than us. My heart goes out to them. Our original Labor Day weekend getaway became a nail biter. Florida was directly in her path and we weren’t sure it would be worth going even if flights were running. It wasn’t until about 2 hours before our flight that we made the call to cancel. Orlando airport was closing. And then they weren’t. They ended up closing and cancelling flights on the day we were coming home. Could we reschedule? They gave us until September 27 to use the cancelled airfare.
The only weekend that worked was this weekend, so even though it was going to mean a mere 36 hours in Florida, we decided to rebook. And then our flight was cancelled yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t meant to be. Turning all the things over to God means I don’t have to be devastated when plans don’t pan out. This isn’t something I learned overnight and the lessons have sometimes been painful to learn. It was a huge disappointment to our son who was looking forward to spending the weekend with his sister and future brother-in-law, parents-free. Eating junk food and playing video games. Staying up late and sleeping in. Navigating his disappointment is another matter and I need all the help I can get for that.
How do you handle sudden change of plans?
MC
I Am Writing 