What. A. Day.
I’m exhausted and I need to get up in less than 4 hours to catch a flight to St. Louis, MO for the International Christian Retail Show! (Very excited…but at the moment so spent it is hard to get moving.)
Yesterday had I known when I was staring at the beautiful Anguilla landscape from what had been our bedroom window that it would take 24 hours to get home to Houston I would have shut the computer down, put my swimsuit back on and soaked in a few more rays. 🙁
Regardless, God had His plan and who was I to get in the way? Funny…as our group waited during the two hour delay in the St. Maarten airport I saw a Spa and thought to myself, “I should run in and get a quick manicure since this stuff is peeling off of my nails. It’ll save a little time Saturday.” I even went into the spa to inquire and Seth came rushing in, grabbing my arm, “No! I want you to go to this area with me,” he demanded, unlike himself, so I obliged and left.
When we boarded the plane we were told that the weather was fine in Charlotte, NC, which is where they had just flown from and where we were headed. There was no explanation as to why they were two hours late. Then we sat in the plane an extra 30 minutes while maintenance filled out paperwork. Needlesstosay there were over 100 passengers on the flight that missed connections in Charlotte, NC due to the delay and customs.
Unfortunate for us we also missed the last flight headed out of Charlotte on US Airways (our carrier) and the other airlines were booked. So we ended up eating pizza at 11pm at night in a hotel (makes me have heartburn in remembrance) and catching a flight out this morning that didn’t get us into Houston till 11:15am.
Which I’m sure you can imagine put washing clothes, getting last minute camp stuff for Seth and my final packing way behind.
But I will choose to forgo the frustration with an acceptance of assuming maybe, just maybe, God really did want me to get a manicure, today…in the Charlotte, North Caroline airport.
We had an hour before boarding our flight and I saw on a kiosk that there happened to be a Spa not but a few feet from our gate. My nails were in desperate need and I knew it was something I’d need to get done before heading to ICRS…so I walked in and was seated immediately. Within a few seconds the young woman, Vahn, was asking me what I did and I told her.
She stopped in mid-filing, mouth agape and said, “Really? Well, I need to talk to you because I’ve been through abuse. Just got out of a bad relationship.” My ‘express’ manicure turned into an hour of frank conversation listening to her amazing story of not only adult abuse relationships but the one she witnessed her mother go through with her father. We discussed her fear of feeling as if she’d be like her mother and could never get herself out of the cycle of choosing the same type of man. I pointed out that in making the brave decision to leave her abuser for her sake and her daughter’s she was already braking that cycle. She is a strong, beautiful woman that has so much to offer.
I asked if I could take her picture but she was too embarrassed so I’m praying she’ll send me one some day. She is an example of courage and hope for all woman who feel as if they are ‘stuck’… You are not stuck and you are not destined to this type of relationship. You deserve more.
So it has been a long and exhausting day but God makes things happen when He wants…who’s to argue? 😉
Blessings
Shannon
For more information and resources for those who have dealt with domestic violence personally or with someone you know visit: