Abundantly More

I like to control things. I like to play it safe, know what is going to happen, and what is going on. When there is a problem, I like to have it fixed right then. When things don't go my way (or how I think they should), I become very anxious. God has been revealing this more and more in my life and teaching me how to rely on Him through these periods of anxiety. He reminds me that I do not NEED to know what is going to happen, even if I think I do. Our true faith is tested when a curve ball is thrown our way. How will we react? Will we trust Him through it? What continues to amaze me is that even when I become upset, stressed, anxious, and try to figure it out on my own, He is STILL faithful and blesses me abundantly.

Even when I am not faithful, He is.

Last Saturday, I received an email from Travelocity letting me know that my flight time had been changed and I did not have sufficient time to make my connecting flights. My brother, Thad, also received this same email since he is taking the same flight path home after he visits me in January.How did I react? At first, I had a really good attitude about it. I would call Travelocity, get this all straightened out and we would be good to go. Of course when I called, found out they had to call the airline and of course, the airline office was closed since it is located in California. *Sigh* Since it was Saturday and they weren't open until Monday, I had to wait until late Monday night or early Tuesday morning to try again. Okay, fine. Decided to "get it over with" and stayed up Monday night and tried calling at Midnight (9 a.m. on the west coast). I was put on a hold for a very long time and then got disconnected (got to love China internet). Tried calling back... same thing. Put on hold, then while they were "checking with the airline," I got cut off. At this point it had been over an hour, it was almost 1:30 a.m. and I was frustrated and exhausted. Yes, time to call it a night. Wednesday morning, I got up early and tried again. Finally got a very nice lady who helped me out. Turns out, I'll need to fly out the afternoon before, spend the night in Beijing (that the airline will cover) and then catch my original flight to NYC then on to Buffalo the following day. The amazing thing about this all? I am actually saving money. I had originally planned on staying in a hotel in Guangzhou the night before since my flight was at 8:30 a.m. Now, I don't fly out until 1:30 p.m. and can just take the airport bus that morning AND the airline is paying for my hotel. Yes, He is faithful, even when I am not. When I am stressed and upset, He comes through. And comes through in a big way.

I continue to be blown away at His goodness, at His grace. Is it the most ideal situation for my brother? Not necessarily. It'll definitely be a learning experience for him when he is flying back by himself but I know that God will be with him. He alone is faithful. He alone is good.

Side-note: Won't you please be lifting my brother up? He has been on my heart a lot lately. I would appreciate your prayers for him!