While flying back from NYC this past weekend, we hit a snag.
Our plane from LaGuardia left 90 minutes late, and it looked like we were going to miss our connecting flight in Dallas to take us back to Wichita. Indeed, when we landed in Dallas, we had 15 minutes to get to our next gate. We sprinted at least 1/2 mile through the airport only to find a sign at our gate telling us the boarding had been completed.
I was out of breath, in disbelief, and could feel anger growing inside of me. I didn’t know what to do. No one was around to ask for help. We were stuck. I didn’t know what to do. We had never missed a flight before. It was late. We needed to get back to Wichita. Zerrin had school to teach the next day. I had clients to see. But the plane was gone!
Fortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story. We actually did get home that night. It turns out we were off on our time with setting clocks back over the weekend and criss-crossing time zones from Wichita to New York and back again.
When we realized what had happened and heard our plane home had actually been changed to another gate, feelings of frustration over our mistake were now added to my overwhelm and shame, too.
I was shut down.
I was glad in this case, my negative emotions weren’t towards my wife (though other times they are.) Still, it created distance between us.
It took the next couple of hours, a late night’s sleep, and some time in the morning with an open Bible for me to finally process my anger, my frustration, and my shame. I was thankful to be able to pull up out of my personal nose-dive and land safely on my feet once again, ready to start my day in a better frame of mind.
But then…
Over the next 24 hours, we found out that a one-year-old niece of mine had been attacked by a dog, a friend’s financial security was severely threatened, another friend shared about a sister dying, and I was back counseling with couples whose marriages were falling apart!
Whew!
I thought to myself, “How many people know what to do when life dishes them a lemon?”
I know, I know the saying – you turn it into lemonade. But how exactly do we do that?
The complete answer is too long for a simple email or blog such as this. But it starts with the idea once again of PAUSING – the first step of PLEDGE. We must take time to quiet our souls, reflect, and listen to the whisper of God leading us to truth. For me, that also meant sitting down for a bit with my Bible in hand. It claims to offer direction and help in life. It did just that for me! I “heard” the quiet voice of God, which enabled me to understand my emotions, and I got back on track.
I want you to be able to do the same!
I will be sharing more in the next several weeks about a project we have been working on behind the scenes that we are pretty excited about. It’s for those of you who want more. You have followed me long enough to know there is real value in PLEDGEtalk and the related materials we have shared, but you have questions. You’ve gotten stuck. You need some kind of hands-on help.
It’s coming.
Watch for more!
Mark Oelze, Author/Creator of PLEDGEtalk
Learn more at PLEDGEtalk.com
