Delay

In 2005 we took a senior mission trip to Europe.  There were four seniors, with me and my wife as sponsors.  It was just as cheap to fly out of Chattanooga as it was to drive to Atlanta and pay for parking for 2 weeks, so we flew out of Chattanooga thru Atlanta to Amsterdam, our final destination.  But Chattanooga is so close to Atlanta that Delta wouldn’t let the flight leave Chattanooga until there was a landing slot in Atlanta.  Our flight was delayed twice, but finally took off.  So, when we landed in Atlanta, our connecting flight to Amsterdam had already left.  What a bummer.  But as we stood at the ticket counter, our delay turned into excitement for the kids.  Since the delay was caused by Delta’s scheduling, it was their responsibility to get us to Amsterdam some way or another.  The ticket agent was thinking aloud, “Well, I could put you through Zurich, (the kids got excited) but there aren’t enough seats.”  Then the agent said, “I could get you to London, (more excitement) but the connection from London to Amsterdam is no good.”  These teenagers had never been out of the country and were excited at the prospects of seeing an extra European city, even if it was only for a couple of hours.  To the kids’ delight, we ended up going through Paris.  Delta made good on their promise to get us to our final destination safe and sound.  Hey, often we have delays and side trips in life.  Some delays are exciting but other delays are fearful.  Often, life doesn’t turn out exactly how we had planned it.  But God has promised to get us to heaven safe and sound.  That is His responsibility, and one that He takes seriously.  Paul said it best in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  You can trust God to see you safely through to your final destination - your eternal home.