{"id":494,"date":"2018-11-09T16:38:42","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T16:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=494"},"modified":"2019-12-10T08:43:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T13:43:35","slug":"unexpected-delays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2018\/11\/09\/unexpected-delays\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected Delays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0“We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.”\u00a0 Proverbs 16:33<\/span><\/strong><\/em>
\nIt is a day of delays.\u00a0 I’m struggling with things not going according to plan.\u00a0 I find it humorous, because my prayer for this weekend is to not take offense.\u00a0 No matter what anyone does, I don’t want to take offense.\u00a0 I just want to love well.
\nUnfortunately, I’m offended.\u00a0 I’m offended at United Airlines because our 6:15 a.m. flight was and is delayed until 12:07 p.m.\u00a0 It has completely derailed our plans for today.
\nOur plan for today was to spend it in San Antonio.\u00a0 We were going to explore the Alamo.\u00a0 We were going to stroll along the infamous San Antonio Riverfront.\u00a0 Shopping, eating, drinking, relaxing in each other’s company.
\nUnited Airlines, however, had different plans.\u00a0 God willing, we will still enjoy the riverfront this evening for dinner.\u00a0 I’m grateful no matter where we are we can relax in each other’s company.\u00a0 The Alamo might have to wait until Sunday.\u00a0 In all fairness, we did receive a text at 10:00 p.m. last night the flight was delayed.\u00a0 The problem was we rolled out of bed at 4:00 this morning, jumped in the shower and were heading out the door before we received it.\u00a0 Gratefully, we weren’t at the airport.\u00a0 However we were wide awake with no place to go too.
\nI’m offended at the airline.\u00a0 I knew when I began praying about not taking offense to anything, I would start being offended.\u00a0 It’s like praying for patience.\u00a0 I tell people, don’t pray for patience.\u00a0 If you do, God will give you lots of reasons to PRACTICE patience.
\nYet, really, aren’t we always offended?\u00a0 Don’t we get offended too easily?
\nI’m absolutely sure the lady who took forever paying for her groceries in front of me woke up thinking about offending me.\u00a0 Because she did.\u00a0 I could not believe how slow she was.\u00a0 I was absolutely sure it was deliberate.\u00a0 Yet she doesn’t even know me.
\nOr how about the young man I cut off the other day on I-64.\u00a0 Do you think he was offended when I pulled in front of him without seeing him?\u00a0 Does he think I deliberately tried to crash into him?\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 I just didn’t see him.\u00a0 He may however have been offended, I don’t know.
\nThe point is, when we get offended, we’re making it about us.\u00a0 We aren’t thinking about the other person or what is going on with them.\u00a0 We’re just thinking about our inconvenience.
\nUnited Airlines isn’t trying to offend me.\u00a0 They are trying to take care of me by making sure the plane we travel on is safe.\u00a0 The woman in line in front of me wasn’t trying to offend me, she was buying her groceries.\u00a0 Doing absolutely nothing wrong.\u00a0 And me, I definitely wasn’t trying to offend the young man I pulled in front of Wednesday.\u00a0 I didn’t even see him.\u00a0 I’m just grateful he had quick reflexes and maneuvered around me without issue.
\nPraying to not take offense isn’t like praying for patience.\u00a0 Praying to not take offense is simply taking the focus off of you and praying for the other person (or company).\u00a0 I am a firm believer no one ever intends to cause you pain.\u00a0 They really don’t mean to offend you.
\nI have begun to realize, when we feel offended it’s a good time for self examination.\u00a0 Whatever offends us is probably what we need help with in our lives.\u00a0 For instance, United delaying our flight is helping me identify my control issues.\u00a0 It’s helping me remember we make our plans but God guides our path.\u00a0 The lady in front of me at the grocery store reminded me I don’t have to rush.\u00a0 I can actually enjoy the moment.\u00a0 That beautiful young man in the jeep reminded me to be flexible.
\nWhenever I feel offended, I know I have some soul searching to do.\u00a0 I have some learning to do.\u00a0 God is shining His light on an area of my life I haven’t turned over to Him.\u00a0 He wants all of us, not just the parts we’re willing to give up.\u00a0 He wants the parts we don’t even know we have to give up.
\nMaybe, getting offended isn’t the worst thing in the world.\u00a0 The key is searching our hearts for why we’re offended.\u00a0 Then, we begin to meet God in the work He’s trying to do in us.
\nI don’t want to take offense, I just want to love well.\u00a0 In order to love well, I have to examine my offenses so I can deal with heart issues, which in the end, will help me love well.
\nIt’s a lot of work.\u00a0 It’s worth it.\u00a0 It always, always draws me closer to God.\u00a0 There is nothing better than feeling His approval as you let Him in a little bit more.
\nInch by inch life is a cinch.\u00a0 Yard by yard life is hard.\u00a0 I learned that phrase from my roommate when I was a flight attendant.\u00a0 One of the wisest things I’ve ever heard.
\nLife is easy when we take it inch by inch.\u00a0 When we try to take it yard by yard it gets out of control.\u00a0 Unexpected delays in life are opportunities to do a little soul searching.\u00a0 They give us a chance to realize, it’s not really about me.\u00a0 It’s not about us.\u00a0 It’s just life.\u00a0 Life isn’t meant to be controlled, it’s meant to be lived.
\nHere’s to living today.\u00a0 Fully and completely!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0“We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.”\u00a0 Proverbs 16:33 It is a day of delays.\u00a0 I’m struggling with things not going according to plan.\u00a0 I find it humorous, because my prayer for this weekend is to not take offense.\u00a0 No matter what anyone does, I don’t want to take offense.\u00a0… Continue reading Unexpected Delays<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1518,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions\/1518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}