An Opportunity Part 2: Departures and Arrivals

The morning of March 8^th, 2012, was a gorgeous sunny morning in New York, and unusually warm for March at that. Me and my dad left home around 11:30 a.m., to make the 2 hour drive to John F. Kennedy Airport, and then make full use of the extra 2 hours before our plane departed at 3:30 in the afternoon. The drive to JFK went off without a hitch, we breezed through Airport Security, and then grabbed some lunch while waiting for our flight at our gate.I had done some research into what the weather was going to be like in DFW upon our arrival, and from what the weather channel said, things weren't looking good. Thus it was with little surprise that they announced our flight would be delayed an hour due to all planes in and out of DFW being grounded until the worst of the weather had passed.

After boarding at 4 P.M., we sat on the runway for another hour before take-off. At that point, I had thought that the flight would be totally smooth sailing. I was wrong. Mild turbulence buffeted us the whole way, and at one point we even saw a lightning storm in the clouds a few miles out. While I couldn't say the weather was trying to get in our way, I would say it was an early sign of God telling me I'd have to trust Him more every step of this trip. Being as I had never been on a bumpy flight in my life, I did. Furthermore, I was reminded even as I watched a lightning storm on one side of the plane, but saw a deep red sunset on the other side, that there is beauty, safety and glory, even in the storm.


We landed safely and quickly got into DFW Airport. We stopped for a minute to grab a bite to eat, and then caught a shuttle bus to go get our rental car. After getting our car, we began the journey to the Ochs' house. We quickly realized, however, that the DFW airport complex was quite large, and that a lot of roads were redirected or closed because of construction. Luckily we found our way out and onto the main highway after a short while and found the Ochs' neighborhood pretty quickly. Marj was waiting for us outside, and met us with hugs and warm welcomes. We went inside and visited for a while before going to bed. That night I was already feeling blessed twofold: 1) in the fact that God had led us to such a wonderful, welcoming family, and 2) that a packet of about 200 brochures, our key hand-out to spread the word about Reece's Rainbow, had arrived the same night as us, after being lost for quite some time in-transit from the printing factory. While it hadn't been without its bumps and trials so far, the trip was already being blessed. For that, I was thankful.