Wednesday night, before heading to bed, I checked my flight schedule for Florida. “The plane leaves at 7:25,” I told Joe. I sank into bed early knowing that I’d have to get up at four a.m. to get ready. A nagging feeling crept up on me. I wanted to go downstairs and check the schedule one more time, but I was exhausted after two days on the road and three presentations.
On the way to the airport, the nagging feeling returned. I took a look at the schedule and right then and there, my heart sank.
6:10.
I was looking at the landing time previously, not the flight time. I was going to miss my plane.
“We’ll, there’s nothing I can do about it,” I told my husband. “I’ll just have to take the next available flight.”
I was scheduled to speak at the Florida School for the Deaf at 2:15, but I wasn’t sure if I would make it there on time. The school informed me that the latest I could arrive would be 3 p.m.
The Southwest agent gave me standby on a flight leaving in 20 minutes, but I had yet to get through security. I made it just before they were closing the doors. I picked up a connecting flight after arriving in Fort Lauderdale. I figured I would make it to the school
As soon as I arrived at the rental car place, I was congratulating myself. There was no line! I figured I would arrive at 2:30. As I reached into my purse, my heart sank; my wallet was nowhere to be found.
My cell phone rang and a kind traveler nearby answered it for me. It was Southwest– they were on their way with my wallet. I’m a frequent flyer with Southwest and they simply rock!
There was a line when I arrived back at the rental car counter and by the time I hit the expressway, I knew I was cutting it close. I threw up a prayer and stepped on the gas.
In the passing lane, I encountered one slow car after another. I couldn’t believe it. Almost no one moved over. I could feel the frustration building up inside of me.
A digital sign indicted a stalled car ahead. Sure enough, the traffic crawled to a stop.
I wanted to scream.
Suddenly, I remembered one of Keith St. Onge’s lessons from his book, Gliding Soles. Whenever he encountered red traffic lights when in a hurry, he considered them as a test of patience.
“Ok, God, bring it on, I can do this. No matter what happens on the road, I’m staying positive.”
As soon as I got off the highway, I encountered more slow drivers and… You guessed it… red lights. Over and over, I stayed positive and envisioned myself arriving in time to speak to the middle school kids.
The guard at the gate took a long time to process my information and print out a pass. Another test of patience, but I was determined to pass it with flying colors and a smile on my face. I walked into the building at…
2:59.
