Me And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I have been awaiting this weekend for months. A weekend to sit at the feet of Bible teachers who have been instrumental in my spiritual development over the past 16 or so years. I even stepped out in faith and bought these tickets before we even knew where in Atlanta the event would be held...that is how passionate I was about attending Deeper Still: The Event.

I did some power packing last night in order to fit everything I would need into a carry on bag. I limited myself to four suits of clothing and three pairs of shoes. I managed to get all of my toiletries into a quart sized (airline approved) baggie. I threw some magazines and a book in with my laptop and I was set to go.

I woke up at 7 and left the house at 8. It would take me an hour and 20 minutes to make it to the Park N Fly...though I was a little distracted as I searched for a branch of my bank along the route (not a single one was to be found).

I parked the car and had to rush to make the shuttle to the airport. Upon arriving at the airport I learned that my flight had been delayed an hour by bad weather in Tampa. Then it had been delayed an hour and ten minutes....then an hour twenty...then an hour and a half.

I pulled out the laptop and attempted to log on with the new broadband card that was just installed yesterday. Nothing. "Insert device" was all it would say to me...and the device was inserted. If I crammed it in any further I would have pushed it through to the other side.

We anxiously watched the thunderstorms descending on Houston wondering if the flight would be delayed again. Thankfully we made it out just in time. We experienced a little turbulence as we approached Atlanta -- having to fly around a storm. Once on the ground, those of us whose destination was Atlanta were asked to stay seated while those with connecting flights disembarked first.

I had chosen row 9 for the purpose of being able to be one of the first ones off...now not only was I not getting off first, but I began to wonder if I would ever get off. He who would be first? right?

Traffic in Atlanta on Friday afternoon is easily comparable to I-10 outbound on Friday afternoon...a parking lot! We rushed to the hotel and checked in. I had not eaten all day, well...except that 1 ounce bag of honey roasted peanuts that they gave us on the airplane. But there was no time for eating...or even changing clothes before heading out to find the arena (see I could have left one more suit at home). More traffic.

It was just going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

And then...we made it to the event parking and were treated to 'princess parking' just across the street from Philips Arena. We waded our way through the sea of women, went ahead and sat in the balcony rather than fight the crowds for a closer seat and grabbed some chicken fingers from a vendor on the concourse.

Just as we finished eating and disposed of the trash, the lights went down and the countdown began...5 minutes to go. Travis Cottrel and his praise team led us in worship. One of the ladies sang about 'running to God's mercy seat'. Beautiful...moving...inspiring!

Priscilla Shirer took the stage. Electrifying! She speaks so authoritatively from the Word, and yet so personally. Her illustrations make you laugh (that "been there, done that" kind of laugh) and yet grab you as she applies it to the truths she is sharing. Tonight she spoke about meeting God in the wilderness...the one He chose for us...so that He can issue us a divine invitation to see Him for ourselves, to hear Him for ourselves. Oh, she stuck a nerve!

When she was finished we were blessed by a mini-concert and the testimony of Mandisa (from American Idol Season 5). That girl can 'sang', ya'll! She gave me chills...and then we closed with one of my favorite praise songs, "Shackles".

We took the long way home, ordered dessert from room service along with a pot of decaf coffee and extra cream, and spent some time bringing each other up to date on our lives since we last sat down together.

And now, I sit here...having forgotten about the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...and instead, I am just feeling amazingly blessed!

Thank You, Lord!