So last week the family and I had the luxury of being able to go to Los Angeles for the week. No this isn’t a brag; we had a voucher from Covid and it wouldn’t be extended so had to use it up. LA was one of the places that meant the whole voucher could be used without us adding much on top – I know, how jammy is that?

But, we got more than LA than we bargained for. We were meant to leave on Friday 18th, to be back on Saturday and have the whole weekend to acclimatise and get ready for the new week. However, we got to the airport and after 6 hours of sitting around and a lack of communication, it turned out our flight was not going to happen in the end. Why? Well because the brakes were faulty and the engineers were having difficulty replacing the part and getting the plane flight ready.

Now, the initial reaction was frustration. I think we would have been frustrated if it was just Dee and I travelling together. But the fact that we had the little one with us, who had done all the playing and explored the full length of the terminal, meant the prospect of sorting out a rebooking and a new hotel etc. was very daunting. In the end, by 3am a whole 12 hours from when we actually arrived to the airport, we made it back to a hotel and were rebooked onto a flight on the Sunday.

After a couple of hours sleep, we enjoyed another day in the sunshine with great food. Until we found out there was going to be a hurricane hitting California on Sunday – another worry inducing situation. Would we be able to fly out in the end? If not, how long would we be stranded for? When we realised our flight was going ahead as planned on Sunday, then it was questions of would it be safe to fly etc. Again, worrying about things that were outside of our control.

However, a couple of things that also went through my mind:

• Thank the Lord that we found out about the technical difficulties before we got on the plane; we were safe and sound on the ground
• Only He knows what He has planned for us. For me, if the airline app was saying we could fly, it was in God’s hands that the pilot would be experienced enough to make sure we made it home safely

I’m not usually someone that questions things outside of my control, but with lack of sleep and travelling with a child, you do tend to worry more than usual. But being in those kind of situations (no matter how trivial in the actual grand scheme of life) can cause you to lose all perspective. However, the bottom line is always: He is in control and He has a plan for every aspect. The question therefore will always be: do you trust Him?