Of A Storm, An Unexpected Reunion, and A God That Loves the Impossible
We were two hours into our first of four flights, when an unexpected announcement was heard over the loudspeaker. "Afternoon folks, this is your captain speaking. There's a thunder storm over Dallas right now so they've asked us to slow down a bit and wait for it to blow over. Please talk to the flight attendants about connecting flights....blah blah blah blah." Whatever, I thought. This just means that we have to sit longer. I returned to whatever I had been doing at that moment and didn't think about it any longer.
After a couple of hours, the pilot made another announcement. "The Dallas airport is closed due to all of the weather that's going on over there, so we're going to land in Austin in the next half hour or so. Please go to the information center at gate seven to ask about flight connections, and to those of you whose final destination was Austin, welcome home!"
My first thought upon hearing this startling news was that my uncle and aunt live just outside of Austin. We had been so disappointed that we hadn't been able to spend very much time with them while in the USA. In fact, we had all been trying to think of ways that we could see each other before we left for Bolivia, but we could think of nothing that was possible, practical, logical, or feasible. Turns out, we forgot that we have a God whose ways are far above the impossible, the impractical, the illogical, and the feasible! Actually, it seems that our God loves the impossible. (Maybe that's why He still loves me!)
Maybe we'll get to see them! But of course, that's highly improbable, I told myself. Nevertheless, I still clung to the small hope that we might be able to meet up, even if it were only for a few hours, or even moments. As soon as we landed I put in a call to Uncle Chris.
The conversation went something like this-
"Hey Uncle Chris, guess what? We just landed in Austin because the weather in Dallas was bad!"
"No way!"
"Yeah, but we don't know how long we'll be here for. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you guys can be ready to come to the airport."
"We're just forty five minutes away and we'll be waiting for your call."
"Ok, hopefully we'll see you soon."
I was alone in the row where I sat, and the rest of my family was several rows ahead of me. Myles looked back and caught my eye, he was grinning from ear to ear. He was as happy as I was about this detour!
The airport was full of frustrated, stranded travelers. It was super crowded because 13 flights had been diverted to Austin, because of the bad weather in Dallas. Not only had flights from Southwest Airlines detoured to Austin, but flights from American Airlines as well.
Daddy must have added a few gray hairs to his head that night as he negotiated with our international airline, as our flight to Bolivia was scheduled for the following day. We were supposed to go from Dallas to Ft. Lauderdale, and then from Ft. Lauderdale we would have taken a shuttle to a hotel in Miami, where we would have stayed Friday night before the last stretch to Bolivia. I know, it's exhausting just reading about it, but you see, we work for our cheap flights! Copa Airlines was very gracious and changed our flight to Sunday for a comparatively small fee, there isn't anything cheap about flying internationally with eleven people! Southwest bent over backwards, and not only gave us tons of food vouchers, but made it possible for us to take a direct flight from Austin to Ft. Lauderdale the following day!
By the time that Daddy got the kinks worked out, Uncle Chris and Aunt Lisa and family had been waiting outside of the airport for an hour or two! I guess they decided that it was easier to wait at the airport than at home.
We had such a joyful reunion. When God gives you something that you never expected to have, you enjoy it so much more. We all stayed up past 1 am, a very rare occurrence for Boohers! All of us kids enjoyed spending time with our cousins, and the parents got to go out to breakfast together Saturday morning. All of us were (and are!) so amazed at how God worked it all out, that we were in a sort of shock, it was almost too good to be true!
The short time that we had in Austin is one of the highlights of my year. A huge demonstration of how much God loves us and truly does give good gifts to His children!
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
(Promise!) Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Psalm 37:4
I don't have tons of pictures of our special time, but I'll share what I have!
Elianna and David on the way back to the airport in the morning!
Ruth and Hannah enjoying little Peter!
We tried to get a group picture, but the group on your right posed on top of an ant hill; the poor ants got offended and attacked! This picture shows the group on the right swaying away from the ant hill! (Welcome to Texas, where the ant hills are big, just like everything else! No offense.) Unfortunately, this is the only group picture that we have, but it sure is funny! The only person missing from the picture is Ericka, who had to go to work early that morning. :-( Thankfully we got to spend time with her the night before!
We all believe that that storm was put in place expressly for our benefit! Why not? Our Heavenly Father has innumerable tricks up His sleeve. What can He not do?
Keep Standing on the Promises, we have a God who keeps them!
Emily Jo
After a couple of hours, the pilot made another announcement. "The Dallas airport is closed due to all of the weather that's going on over there, so we're going to land in Austin in the next half hour or so. Please go to the information center at gate seven to ask about flight connections, and to those of you whose final destination was Austin, welcome home!"
My first thought upon hearing this startling news was that my uncle and aunt live just outside of Austin. We had been so disappointed that we hadn't been able to spend very much time with them while in the USA. In fact, we had all been trying to think of ways that we could see each other before we left for Bolivia, but we could think of nothing that was possible, practical, logical, or feasible. Turns out, we forgot that we have a God whose ways are far above the impossible, the impractical, the illogical, and the feasible! Actually, it seems that our God loves the impossible. (Maybe that's why He still loves me!)
Maybe we'll get to see them! But of course, that's highly improbable, I told myself. Nevertheless, I still clung to the small hope that we might be able to meet up, even if it were only for a few hours, or even moments. As soon as we landed I put in a call to Uncle Chris.
The conversation went something like this-
"Hey Uncle Chris, guess what? We just landed in Austin because the weather in Dallas was bad!"
"No way!"
"Yeah, but we don't know how long we'll be here for. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you guys can be ready to come to the airport."
"We're just forty five minutes away and we'll be waiting for your call."
"Ok, hopefully we'll see you soon."
I was alone in the row where I sat, and the rest of my family was several rows ahead of me. Myles looked back and caught my eye, he was grinning from ear to ear. He was as happy as I was about this detour!
The airport was full of frustrated, stranded travelers. It was super crowded because 13 flights had been diverted to Austin, because of the bad weather in Dallas. Not only had flights from Southwest Airlines detoured to Austin, but flights from American Airlines as well.
Daddy must have added a few gray hairs to his head that night as he negotiated with our international airline, as our flight to Bolivia was scheduled for the following day. We were supposed to go from Dallas to Ft. Lauderdale, and then from Ft. Lauderdale we would have taken a shuttle to a hotel in Miami, where we would have stayed Friday night before the last stretch to Bolivia. I know, it's exhausting just reading about it, but you see, we work for our cheap flights! Copa Airlines was very gracious and changed our flight to Sunday for a comparatively small fee, there isn't anything cheap about flying internationally with eleven people! Southwest bent over backwards, and not only gave us tons of food vouchers, but made it possible for us to take a direct flight from Austin to Ft. Lauderdale the following day!
By the time that Daddy got the kinks worked out, Uncle Chris and Aunt Lisa and family had been waiting outside of the airport for an hour or two! I guess they decided that it was easier to wait at the airport than at home.
We had such a joyful reunion. When God gives you something that you never expected to have, you enjoy it so much more. We all stayed up past 1 am, a very rare occurrence for Boohers! All of us kids enjoyed spending time with our cousins, and the parents got to go out to breakfast together Saturday morning. All of us were (and are!) so amazed at how God worked it all out, that we were in a sort of shock, it was almost too good to be true!
The short time that we had in Austin is one of the highlights of my year. A huge demonstration of how much God loves us and truly does give good gifts to His children!
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
(Promise!) Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart. Psalm 37:4
I don't have tons of pictures of our special time, but I'll share what I have!
We make quite a stir when we travel! It was wonderful to have the wagon for the three little ones and whatever odds and ends that fit! As you can see, we don't skimp on the carry-ons!
David, with his beloved cousin, Kevin.
Paula and Elianna, best friends together again!
Jammin' a little.
Clayton got creative with the travel pillows! This guy's a goofball.
Ruth and Hannah enjoying little Peter!
Kevin and Clancy, the two pills in a pod--who knows what mischief they're scheming up!
We all believe that that storm was put in place expressly for our benefit! Why not? Our Heavenly Father has innumerable tricks up His sleeve. What can He not do?
Keep Standing on the Promises, we have a God who keeps them!
Emily Jo
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