One of the reasons we were running late was a totally out of character shopping spree. I've never cared a whit about shoes and purses. I never change purses, only buying a new one when my old one falls apart. I've never sprung for a nice one. It needs to be big, so it's actually more like a small carry on than a purse. To give you an idea of just how un-chic I am, on a cruise eleven years ago, I carried around my plastic satchel even while clothed in a beautiful sequined dress (I have pictures).
Shoes? Same thing. I find a sturdy, somewhat fashionable pair and replace them when they wear out. I had a ten dollar coupon for DSW that was about to expire. Conveniently, a DSW was on the way. I headed straight to the clearance racks and found so many shoes and boots I couldn't carry them all to the check out counter. Caitlin saw me struggling with my enormous stack and thought I was joking. The good news is, the receipt says I "saved" 500 dollars. The bad news is, now I needed to check a bag.
We arrived at the airport 30 minutes prior to departure. I checked a bag but was stilled loaded down like a pack mule. The Known Crew Member security line (which doesn't restrict the amount of liquids you can bring through) closed minutes before I got there...which meant my expensive wine would be confiscated. Oh well, at least it appeared my prayers of making the flight would be answered.
Sweating like a pig, I made it to the gate only to be told I didn't have a prayer of getting on. Not wasting any time, I bolted back to security to beg for the return of my confiscated items. I bought a cheap bag to put them in and checked it for the next flight. I had the jumpseat on that flight so I was guaranteed a seat.
It had been more than two weeks since I had seen or talked to my best friend Tammy (very unusual). I was desperately missing her. We had so much to catch up on, and it was going to be another two weeks before I could see her.
Out of more than 22,000 flight attendants, guess who was working the flight and sharing a jumpseat with me? Tammy. It was a miracle! I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the unexpected gift. A gift God had planned for me all along, with the bonus of a much needed workout (the flat out sprints I ran loaded down with heavy bags).
If God had answered my prayers and allowed me to get on that first flight I would have missed out on that precious time together. We talked and laughed incessantly for an hour and a half.
God didn't allow me to get on the first flight, because He had something so much better to give me. A miraculous set of circumstances only He could have arranged. So you see, sometimes, we really can thank God for unanswered prayers.
