The Bible says “This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” ‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The journey to my much anticipated South Africa trip began smoothly from LAX to Heathrow couldn’t be smoother. However arrival in Heathrow began with an inability to find my 5 rolling mamas the ladies in wheelchairs. After a bit of running around I was able to find them and utilize my unique gift of connections to negotiate them all joining me and my roommate at a discounted rate in the sold out lounge.

Things couldn’t be better, we enjoyed food and laughter looking forward to the Heathrow to Johannesburg flight in 5 hours and soaking it all in.

What is it they say about if you want to hear God laugh tell him your plans? About an hour before we are to get on our flight, someone noticed something in the app that our flight is delayed until the next day, mind you it’s about 8pm and everything in the terminal shows that the flight is still on schedule.

After finding a manager we find that our flight and group of 25 (19 travelers + 6 travelers requiring wheelchairs) were indeed delayed until the next day at 11am. Somehow I was able to connect to an employee that allowed me to act on behalf of the group and secure hotel and shuttle vouchers for the group, only challenge was getting everyone together. We were unable to locate 5 people who included some of our more senior folks who weren’t too much in love with what’s app and WiFi,

After tracking everyone down the last group and I finally made it to the hotel around midnight, got some food and showered and set for the morning by 230am. Our group got up early and was on the 415am shuttle back to the airport and again found favor with another employee I connected with who fixed all our boarding passes, secured all our wheelchairs, set us up with vouchers and everything without going through it individually.

We made it to the plane and to Johannesburg joyfully a day late around 2am.

Everything is a lesson if you are paying attention. My lesson in this was D.N.D. , delayed but not denied. Yes the delay was inconvenient however the 25 of us formed Team Favor and got to know each other making connections that will follow us beyond this trip. I was able to use my gifts to the benefit of others in a time of crisis (albeit slight).

My trip to South Africa was delayed, but not denied and just a few days out of 12 on this trip it has been the most exhilarating days of my life.

Every delay isn’t a bad thing, had we not had a delay I would not have adopted/ been adopted by my 5 rolling mamas. We all go to a fairly large church where we didn’t know each other but are now a little community and will be looking for each other during services and events.

The delay did not stop my trip or block my blessings. Don’t let your delays fool you into believing that you won’t reach your goals or deter you from continuing the journey. There can be unexpected blessings in the delay if you are not discouraged.

Just remember D.N.D. – Delayed Not Denied