Kris and Kell were admiring the Tree of Life in New Orleans and were getting ready to leave, but they did not know where they were supposed to go next. Kell happened to look down and saw a bouquet of flowers laying on the ground. She said, “Look, one of the bridesmaids must have dropped here flowers.” Kell wanted to find the bridesmaid and give the flowers back to her, but when she picked them up, she saw that there was a note and an envelope taped to the flowers. The note was addressed to Kell, and it said, ‘Please enjoy these flowers today, and your next directions are in the envelope!’
In the envelope there were plane tickets to Chicago and a map of the elevated trains and subways that would take them to the Willis Tower in Chicago! They saw that their plane would be leaving soon, so that had no time to lose! They hurried to the airport, went through security and got to the boarding gate just as people were getting onto the plane! They had just barely made it on time!
Then something strange happened, the plane did not leave! They sat there and sat there and sat there! Finally, the captain of the airplane made an announcement and told the passengers that the plane was having some mechanical issues, but the problems were almost fixed, and they would be leaving shortly.
Soon the plane was in the air, and everything seemed to be going fine, but then the captain made another announcement! He said that there was a fast-moving, violent storm approaching Chicago, so they could not land there! Instead, they were going to land in St. Louis and wait for the storm to pass by.
They landed in St. Louis, Missouri with no problems and again they sat in the plane for a long time. While they were waiting, Kell got out her tablet and looked up the Willis Tower to see what they were going to do in Chicago. When she found the information, she read it to Kris:
The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) is the tallest building in the United States and the observation deck is on the 103rd floor of the tower! From the observation deck a person can see four states on a clear day (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana). The most unique thing about the observation deck is the ‘Ledges’! The Ledges are four all-glass balconies that extend 4.3 feet over the edge of the building! Even the floors of the Ledges are made of three layers of glass, so that when a person is standing in one of the Ledges, they can look straight down and see the streets that are 1,353 below their feet! Each of the Ledges is designed to hold 10,000 pounds, but it is still very scary to have nothing but 1.5 inches of glass between you and a very long fall!
Finally, the captain made another announcement and told the passengers that the storm had passed Chicago, and they could land there. However, the storm was now between Chicago and St. Louis, so they would have to fly around the storm! They would be going over Iowa, and Wisconsin before going into Illinois and landing in Chicago!
There was nothing Kell and Kris could do about it, this was going to be a long trip! They tried to sleep while the plane was making the long detour around the storm, but they were too excited about the Willis Tower to sleep! Kell could not wait to stand on the glass floor of one of the balconies! She wanted to jump up and down and do a cartwheel way above the streets of Chicago! Kris thought that she was out of her mind! Kris was not even sure if he wanted to go onto one the Ledges. He did not want to look straight down to the streets of Chicago!
Finally, the plane landed in Chicago. Kell and Kris were ready to get off the plane as soon as the doors opened, but the doors did not open! The captain of the plane made another announcement! There were so many planes delayed by the storm that there was not room for all the planes to unload their passengers! They would have to stay on the plane until a passenger gate became available for them to use!
They waited and waited and finally the plane taxied to a gate, and they were able to get off the plane! Kell and Kris were so anxious to go to the Willis Tower that they wanted to run, but they could not run because there were so many people!
When they got to the waiting area, there was a person holding a sign with their names on it! Kris and Kell went to that person, and the person said, “Your plane was so late that there is no time for you to go to the Willis Tower. Your next plane leaves in less than an hour! You must run to the boarding location of your next plane!” The person handed Kris plane tickets and an envelope and Kris and Kell ran through the airport to the gate (which happened to be on the other side of the airport)!
Kris and Kell were very disappointed that they did not get a chance to go to the Willis Tower! They did not understand why everything had to go wrong on this adventure. It was not an adventure; it was a total misadventure!
Lesson Learned about God:
Kris and Kell experienced a huge disappointment! They were supposed to go to an awesome location and have an incredible experience. All the plans were made, and the tickets were paid for, but then everything went wrong and they never got to experience this adventure! Life is like that sometimes. We have a great plan made and everything seems to be going right, and then suddenly everything falls apart and we experience great disappointment and feel terrible! We do not understand why things like this happen, and sometimes we even wonder if God lost control of the situation or if God is mad at us for some reason.
God never loses control of any situation, and He is never surprised at the way things turn out! He knows what is best for us and will arrange circumstances in a Believer’s life so that everything works out for the very best for our life!
In the Bible in Jeremiah 29:11 it says:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
In the Bible in Romans 8:28-30 it says:
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.
In the Bible in Proverbs 16:9 it says:
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Kris and Kell learned that God is in charge, and everything He does in the life of a Believer is for our own good. We need to trust God and not get so upset when things do not turn out the way we hoped that they would turn out.
Report to the grandmother:
- At the travel agency – God has a good plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11
- Florida – God is watching over us, we do not need to be fearful. Psalms 23
- Wisconsin – Temptations. I Corinthians 10:13, Proverbs 14:12, I John 1:9
- Minnesota – Never take your eyes off Jesus. Matthew 14:22-33
- Kentucky – God’s Word (the Bible) is the truth! John 17:17
- Louisiana – Choose Heaven and the Tree of Life. Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:27 thru 22:5
- Illinois – God is in control. Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28-30, Proverbs 16:9