*Disclaimer, this story is totally about first world problems, but I promise I will share what I have learned by the end!*
Because I am a frugal chic, I decided I would figure out how to make this trip happen in just a carry-on bag- that's a $50 savings. Now this in itself was a major challenge as I'm a girl who likes her make-up bold and her hair big!! I had carefully plotted and planned "travel size" of my favorite hair product and skin care regimen. As I finished packing Sunday night I was VERY proud of my ability to squeeze 13 products into my TSA allotted quart size bag. Before bed I hopped on the app for the airline I was flying and checked in to my flight. As soon as I clicked the button, I was greeted with a pop-up screen informing me that there was a new baggage rule for the "class" I had chosen to fly (reference my above statement about being a frugal chic) where I was only allowed ONE personal item of briefcase, backpack, or purse size and I could NOT access the overhead bin for carry-on storage. It went on to say that if I didn't check my bag I would also incur a $25 gate fee in addition to the regular baggage fee for not following the rule. It was clearly marked this way on my boarding pass- there was no getting around it. I was VERY frustrated and I'll admit I pouted a while which kept me up beyond my planned bedtime. At 11:30 pm I set the alarm for 3:30 and quickly decided 4 hours of sleep would do fine.
At 1:45am I was awakened by phone tone alerting me that my 8:00am flight had been canceled. I was shocked and frustrated. I'm not a super frequent flyer- just once or twice a year- so this is not something I had encountered before and I wasn't sure what to do. Immediately, I hopped out of bed and started searching for the customer service number of the airline. I called at 1:55 am and the computer told me they were very busy and to please wait for the next available representative. So began my adventure "on hold." At 3:00am, while still on hold, I got a notification telling me I had been rebooked for a 5:05pm flight which now included a layover and would get me to Dallas at 11:44pm- an entire day late to my conference and missing out on lots of important things. It did offer that if this flight didn't work I could call customer service to see what they could do... well I was a step ahead of that plan HAHA, I was already one hour in to my customer service wait. At this point I was sick to my stomach from stress, exhausted from lack of sleep, and on the verge of tears. I decided I needed to do something besides wait- so I began to pray through my stress that God would help them find me some way to work it out. At first, I almost started pulling clothes from my bag that I was supposed to be wearing for the evening awards event that I was now missing, but... instead I decided to go ahead with my last minute suit case items. I decided I was going to act in belief that things would work out.
Finally, at 4:30am (after 2 1/2 hours on hold) the familiar recording changed to two quick rings followed by the chipper voice of the airline representative. She apologized for my long wait time and asked how she could help me. I remembered my parents' frequent line to us "You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar." And so, I very kindly told her my flight had been canceled and the rebook really didn't work for me. Would there be any possible way of searching for any other possible options to get me to Dallas earlier in the day? I also mentioned that from my location there were two other major airports within the same driving distance as my original flight, and I was willing to change locations if that would help. Immediately, she thanked me for being so kind to her. She said that most people in my situation yell at her and blame her for the problems they are dealing with. She said she was so appreciative that she was "going to take very good care" of me. I told her I couldn't thank her enough for that. She managed to find me a flight out of a different airport (one I was actually far more familiar with) for only 20 minutes later than my original flight, arriving only 10 minutes later than the original flight, AND she upgraded me so the "charge for your carry-on" issue from the night before was no longer a problem. Holy cow!! What a blessing!! I thanked her again and wished her to have an amazing day. I got off the phone right in time to hop in the shower to leave on time, to get to my new flight, and have a smooth trip in the rest of the way. I only had 2 hours of sleep, but an amazing reminder.
As I stood in the shower I prayed that God would give that gracious lady some blessings today for her help, but it also hit me... He loves us so much that He even cares about the little insignificant things. This wasn't any kind of life or death issue, it wasn't a matter of salvation, it was just about convenience and an event I was looking forward to. If God cares enough to work out little details in our lives like that, why do I hesitate to trust Him at times with the big things? If he has this little drama in the palm of His hand, then he DEFINITELY has ministry decisions, parenting struggles, work stress, and all my big worries covered too- if I will only trust Him. Will it always work out as well as it did today? Nope! But today I sure was thankful for the reminder that "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me."
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:26
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