Ditch The Tights & Catch Your Flight: The Day I Learned I’m Not Wonder Woman

Have you ever wished you were a super hero?

From the time we were young kids, we hoped we could fly at supersonic speed, hide behind our invisibility cloak, stretch our arms to infinity, or save the universe from destruction.

As children, we might have donned our capes and masks, dressed up in our favorite costumes and tried to save the day.As adults, I really think we continue to do this, minus the tights and flashy outfits.

I struggle with always wanting to try to be all things to all people. I try to do everything I possibly can, trying to pull off much more than humanly possible. I race from one place to the next. I add one more thing to my already over packed schedule. I try to squeeze the last second out of the day, trying desperately to cross just one more things off of my ever-growing To Do List. I feverishly try to meet the demands of my family. I try to do things for other people and somehow when my schedule least expects it, a crisis pops up and I race around, trying to find my Wonder Woman cape and wrist cuffs but instead of saving the universe, I fall short. I stumble and my best-made plans go crashing down all around me. My breathing becomes erratic. My heart beats rapidly inside of my chest and the tears well up in my eyes. My words become harsh, along with the tone I use. I can’t sleep at night. I have trouble focusing during the day. I struggle with my ability to concentrate on the person sitting across from me because my thoughts are going a million miles an hour.

Recently, our lives have been on the crazy cycle. We’ve been trying to finish up the edits to our book so the printer can get to work, David had to undergo surgery, our youngest started college, we waited for biopsy reports, we hosted a Celebration of Life party with family and friends, and my mother had major surgery. All this happened in the last month. So, last week, as David began hobbling around again, he nudged me to fly to Minnesota to be with my parents for a few days. My mom had been struggling with intense pain after her surgery and I was feeling bad because I hadn’t been able to be with her. So, last Tuesday evening I boarded a plane and surprised my parents when I walked through their back door. On my short visit, I still had to work on edits, have a conference call with a speaking coach, read for an upcoming biblical counseling class we will be participating in and write several blogs. My mind and my body just can’t seem to find rest lately.

So here’s where God comes into the picture and makes His presence known.

After a few short days with my parents, I head back to the Minneapolis airport to head for home. I’m on a tight schedule (of course) because our daughter and I have planned a Girls Weekend. Samantha’s planning on picking me up from the Indy airport just in time for us to drive two hours to an amazing craft show where we will browse and shop and get inspiration the next couple of days. I check in my bag at the self-check counter. I double check that my flight is on time. I grab a quick bite to eat and go to Gate G17 where I wait to board. While waiting, I create my new To Do List, make some phone calls, and write several emails. Finally they call Zone 2 to board so I make my way to the line. Then I hear the airline worker say, “Now boarding Zone 2 passengers on Flight #XXXX to ATLANTA!”

My heart stutters. I get out of line and inquire about where the plane to Indy is. Turns out I had been sitting at the wrong gate the entire time! I grab a nice man, with one of those airport cart-taxi’s and ask him to get me to G12 as fast as he can. I nearly jump off before it comes to a complete stop, only to see the plane- MY plane- pushing out from the gate without me!

Luckily, a very nice woman was able to get me a seat on the next flight out but that would be nearly 2 hours after I was scheduled to get home. My heart sank. The tears began to fall. I’d completely screwed up, simply because I’d let the crazies take over my life and my thoughts. I was so busy that I was distracted and completely missed my flight. I called David to tell him how I had messed up. At the beginning of our conversation I was fighting back tears, but within a few minutes we were laughing. What a lesson. I’ve needed to slow down, but I didn’t act on that. So God got my attention- in a big way.

I took advantage of the next two hours. I tried to relax, to just take a few deep breaths. I vowed to try to slow down

and to listen to God when I’m being nudged, so He doesn’t have to smack me with a 2×4 to get my attention. I grabbed a soothing hot chocolate and tried to be still for a few minutes. I realized that I don’t fit into Wonder Woman’s costume. And then I boarded the right plane and made my way back home.

Has God ever had to do something drastic to get your attention? I pray that we can all breathe a great sigh of relief as we remember that we don’t have to do it all. In fact, we can’t.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”-Psalm 46:10