Beating the System

One of the perks of my dh's job is that we can fly with discount.

The not so wonderful part of the deal is that we have to travel standby. That means that you travel if there is space. It means that you never really know if you are going to get on the plane until you are actually sitting in the seat and have your seatbelt fastened!!!
You learn to check for the emptiest flights and fly when everyone else is NOT! Reality is though, that all of a sudden a plane can get full and as well as a full plane can get empty from one minute to the next, so you can plan but that plan can change in minutes. (this reminds me of the verse that says that man plans his way but it is the Lord who charters his course!!!!) Naturally paying customers have priority over us!!!! When we flew to Denver, the other day, we were the last 5 people to get on the plane and had to sit in the remaining seats that were dotted all over the cabin. I did manage to persuade the passenger in the seat next to my daughter to change with me, but that isn´t always possible.


The boys are older and are aware that this can happen and it doesn´t bother them so much, but no 3 is still too young to be on her own on a 10 hour flight!... It goes without saying that travelling all together in the same row is a luxury that seldome occurs!

Now on our flight back home we were also the last five on the plane. In fact, just before the flight took off, we were deciding what to do in the case not all of us could get on. Who would stay and who would go. This kind of decision making can add alot of stress, especially for the kids.

Not knowing when, if or how something is going to happen, makes the waiting that much harder to bear. Add to this that standbys must check-in as soon as the check-in is open yet and wait until the last passenger boards, makes for a long waiting time.
This also poses a big challenge for our suitcases! Very often they don´t make it with us! Standbys are not entitled to the same rights as paying passengers on luggage reclaim. Another perk!

Let's get back to our flight home.

Just minutes before the plane was to depart we were told that there was room just for three of us. We had already decided that I would stay with no 1 and travel the next day. (tomorrow´s flight was more oversold than this one...not good!!)

So we gave each other a quick hug only to discover a few seconds later , that we could ALL fly as two passengers had not shown up . Talk about being flexible!

We proceeded to run down the gangway to the plane, gasping for air and trying to decipher what number our seats were! It´s all rush, rush, rush!

In the end, you are just glad you made it on!

We arrived 8 hours and 40 mins later in Frankfurt (9:30am local time) only to find out that our connecting flight to Spain had been cancelled! The next flight would be at 4:00pm. The problem was that we knew that because of the cancellation, all the passengers from that flight would be put on the 4:00pm flight and we would most likely be bumped to the 9:00pm flight.

To cut a long story short, (this was getting longer that I had wanted anyway!!!)my hubby managed to get us on another airline and we had to run (again!) to catch that flight, because it had been delayed (don´t know why) and had almost no passengers.

Usually we are not allowed to change airline, but given the situation they made an exception with the agreement that we were aware we would probably not get our luggage due to the quick change. (and hey who knows where the luggage was at that point!)

Truth being it´s hard enough to have your luggage travel with you anyway, but changing airlines is almost a guarantee of not getting it. We resigned to the fact that we would probably have to make another trip back to the airport to get it. At this point we just wanted home, as by now, it´s like 4:00am for our bodies although the clocks said 11:00am!

To our great surprize and wonder, all 7 of our suitcases made it with us. Against all the odds, against the system and against all logic! It really was a miracle!

This whole series of events spoke to me that God works so many times against all reason, out of the box and inspite of "the system. "

God beats the system.

He is not limited to our time, our protocol or even our understanding. He can choose to use our excuse for order or systems to do His will, or He can do it outside of all these things. Ater all He is God. He is the creator and author of all things.

I would never in all my wildest dreams, have expected to see our suitcases there on the baggage reclaim turnstile, but against all the odds there they were: all seven of them.

Likewise, against all natural logic, God is able to do a miracle in my life, my circumstances and my struggles. He is the God who revealed himself to Abraham and Sarah as the one who says, "Is there anything to hard for the Lord?" He gave them a son when against all the odds and nature itself, that was impossible.

I encourage you today, to believe and have faith for your situation. This very God who so loves you and cares for you, is working on your behalf! Take Heart!