This is another of my airport adventures… It seems like I have a habit of finding myself in predicaments—or perhaps just unique circumstances—whenever I fly. These are the times that have made my life far from boring, and it is fun to think about this experience again as I tell the story to you!
One year ago I was sitting on my suitcase in the Miami Airport at an unusual morning hour. It was probably two o’clock am. The lines to the ticket counter were staggering. I read the nylon walkway ribbons on either side of me and had to laugh. “Always an adventure no matter the wait” read one. Another taunted, “You’re practically basically almost there.” That one prompted an eye roll. Yeah right. At that point in time we had no idea where we were going or when.
My friend Lavina and I had been on a flight from Guatemala returning to the US and had landed in Florida several hours earlier. Once we had been through customs and transferred our luggage to the Minneapolis flight, we settled into some chairs to wait for take off time. Both of us had been through over 24 hours of travel already and were more than ready to get home to Wisconsin.
About a half hour before our flight was to begin boarding, one of the flight attendants announced over the loud speakers that the plane was experiencing computer problems and they would keep us posted on when we could board. The minutes turned into an hour and still no permission was given. After nearly two hours the airport personnel declared the plane unfit to fly and we were all told to recollect luggage from downstairs and head for the Spirit Airlines ticket counter. There they would help everyone to schedule new flights.
The mass of people that had been anxiously waiting at the gate abruptly moved away and Lavina and I followed, both unsure of what to do. I had already taken a sleeping pill to ensure a good night’s rest on our flight home, and was coming down with a cold that I feared would turn into pneumonia like it had the year before. I was groggy and drained physically and emotionally. All I had wanted was to go home! Now I was stuck in Florida. But at least I had Lavina with me and we could be stuck together.
Once we got up to the ticket counters the lines of people snaking around multiple times told me we were going to be in this for the long haul. Apparently more than one flight had been cancelled that night. I sent Lavina to fetch our suitcases and I found a place to wait in line. Sitting down and relaxing was perfectly acceptable because the line was moving slower than a snail pace. I also found some coffee to hopefully combat the sleeping pill and get me through as many hours as this adventure was going to require.
Looking back, those three plus hours of waiting in line weren’t so bad. There were plenty of people to watch, and talk to. Lavina and I ended up in some very lively conversations, and even met some ladies who knew of the town where we were from and knew someone I did! We also sang some songs in Spanish and enjoyed practicing our language skills with any Hispanic that would listen to us. And the free airport wifi was a great time occupier.
When we finally made it to the counter area I was beginning to droop. The coffee had livened me for a time, but lack of sleep was catching up. It was now about three am and the airline employees were ornery from spending the last several hours dealing with angry and frustrated passengers. Lavina and I were literally the last people who hadn’t been helped yet, and by our discussion with others who had gone through ahead, the prospects of getting a free replacement flight were looking very bleak. “Let’s pray, said Lavina. We both bowed our heads right there and asked God to help us. I had barely said “amen” when a friendly looking African American gal approached Lavina and I. We were leaning on our luggage and probably wearing the best pathetic puppy dog faces we could manage. “Have you girls been helped yet?” She questioned. When we both shook our heads she called us over to her computer and ran our tickets and passports through. I held my breath as she quietly did her work. “I am so sorry about this,” she apologized. “Thank you for waiting so long.” “Oh it’s alright” I assured her. “Thank you for helping us and working so hard all night to help everyone.” Both Lavina and I were very thankful and tried to encourage her while she gave us our options and we figured out what to do.
“You’re all set” she said after a few moments, and handed us new tickets and a stack of vouchers. My eyes popped as she explained that she had arranged a room for us at one of the most ritziest, expensive hotels in Hollywood Florida, complete with food and taxi vouchers. It was now Saturday, and our new flight would be that night at no cost to us. As Lavina and I thanked her profusely I knew that God’s finger was all over this. We had just been gifted a completely unexpected and free vacation in Florida!
The hotel was really nice. Entirely too fancy for two country girls who didn’t even know how to operate the strange elevator. (The nice young man at the counter helped us out with that dilemna.) The room was huge and so were the beds. As we bounced onto the fluffy white bed coverings Lavina informed me that this was her first time to sleep in a hotel! Somehow we managed to get some sleep that morning. At least, Lavina did. I was too hyper to sleep long and was just itching to go find the beach. After lunchtime we did an exploratory trip across the street to the Atlantic ocean and discovered a big, beautiful beach jam packed with people. We ran back to the hotel for our swim things and returned to play in the water and lay in the sand. Both of us got quite burnt but it was worth it. I had never seen such white sand or brilliant blue green water. I could have floated in that salty warm water all day!
We spent our evening in the gigantic maze of outdoor swimming areas at the hotel, which was surrounded by palm trees, and ate supper in the hotel restaurant using our vouchers. The food tasted amazing since we hadn’t eaten a real meal in over twelve hours. That hotel experience was complete luxury and I was almost kind of sad when we had to catch the taxi back to the airport. But we were finally going home and that was exciting.
I breathed a sigh of relief when we had boarded our flight at 9:55 pm bound for MSP. Lavina’s parents were there to pick us up, and never had the chilly April wind in Minneapolis been so welcomed! It was home.
That adventure was certainly memorable, and I am so glad it happened when Lavina and I were together. I would have been pretty miserable having to go through all of that on my own and she could probably say the same for herself. God knew what we needed and He took care of us above and beyond what we could have ever asked for. What a mighty God we serve!
Hiding in the Light 