Not the way you think.
I literally lost all control.
God was the only One in control, which is the way it should be, but usually I don’t let Him.
At about 11:00 a.m., Friday morning, I was chillin’ with these people.
Don’t know who they are? It’s Ayiesha Woods, her brother & drummer, Donald, and Drew, her bass player. Guitar player to come later. And no, I was not a dorky stalker fan. But, I did ask for pictures (which I asked others not to do) all for the blog’s sake. You’re welcome.
They were super cool, with no rock star egos. Not to mention, they rocked the house at the conference that night. If you don’t have her CD, run out and get it. She’s incredible.
But, I’m getting sidetracked.
If you remember, I was supposed to be hangin’ with Lisa Whelchel. Her plane was to arrive at 3:30 p.m. … perfect timing because she wasn’t to speak until about 8:00 p.m. Plenty of time, right? No rushing or stressing. Everything was going according to plans.
Until …
I got a phone call from her husband earlier, in which he informed me that their flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. They were going to have to rush to the airport to find another flight. The only one they could get on was a flight to New Orleans, landing at 3:25 p.m.
This was a little scary.
New Orleans is 2 hours away, with them having to hit Baton Rouge traffic at about 5:00 p.m., which is seriously bumper-to-bumper.
I remained calm and figured she’d still get here in plenty of time to speak … probably about 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. (which was when the event started). Her husband was to call me when their plane touched down.
At 4:00, no phone call. I called … straight to voicemail … starting to become concerned.
We check flights online. Their flight said it was not to arrive until 5:20 p.m.
WHAT?!?!
The event started at 6:30, remember? New Orleans is 2 hours away … not counting waiting in baggage claim and picking up rental car, we’re looking at longer.
According to my calculations, she would not arrive until 8:00, if they hit no traffic.
I started to panic a little and then tried to think of something I could do to stall. I called my planning team to my office and we prayed. I relinquished all control to God. It was out of my hands. There was nothing I could do to fix this. I felt peace. I knew everything would be OK and I would not disappoint these 300-and-somewhat women.
I decided we would start 15 minutes late. Do women’s events start on time anyway? And, we would do giveaways we had planned for the next day to stall time if we had to.
Her husband and I kept in touch as they traveled. I held my cell phone in my hand throughout worship & Ayiesha Woods’ concert, waiting for the call that she was here.
I was never so happy to hear Blondie’s, “Call Me” (my ringtone). She was here. It was 7:45. I met them at the door. She had put her make-up on in the car and even changed her clothes in the car. She asked for water and a mint and we headed into the concert.
I thought about what God was trying to teach me through these moments of panic.
Trust.
It always comes down to that, doesn’t it?
And, do you know what she spoke on? Being a control freak and allowing God to be in control. She was great the whole weekend.
If you get the chance to see either of these ladies, go.
Thanks so much for writing this. I needed to hear it this morning.
That is completely awesome!
-FringeGirl
Hey Mama Belle…I LOVE your shirt!! *wink, wink*
So glad everything went according to God’s plan.
You look beautiful hanging with your rock-star buddies.
Wow! What a great lesson… I hate those panicky crazy stressful times, but always come away from them better. With less control – but really learning I never had that contol in the first place.
Great pictures! Looked like you had too much fun with the band. 🙂
Talk about a day that can age you 5 years! You looked great. 😉
Ayiesha Woods came to our area for a women’s conference. A friend and I were talking about plastic surgeries, then Ayiesha starts singing…. iiiiiiiiiI, I’m gonna be a beauty. Timing… it’s a funny thing.
Glad everything worked out!!
Awesome story. It’s amazing how God works. I have a little issue with control too.LOL
What a great witness!
OH MY GOSH how fun for you to hang out with them! And stressful about the other event! So sorry, that’ why I’m never in charge of things…that and I’m irresponsible! 🙂 lol!
How awesome! I would have been stressing, too, because that’s pretty much my favorite thing (ha!). I’m so glad everything went wonderfully!
That’s quite funny that she was speaking on relinquishing control!
I think I told you that she interviewed me for her homeschooling book once. She’s very down-to-earth, isn’t she?
Great lesson! I would have been freakin out…
Love that! Good for you for “Letting Go, and Letting God”
Sounds like you had a wonderful time… God is always in control…
It is so hard for me to let go of that control….I always hang on so tight to it! Wonderful lesson to learn!
And God doesn’t have a sense of humor! Pft. I’m so jealous I didn’t get to meet Blair! I’m not sure if you remember, but George Clooney made his acting debut on Facts of Life…SHE KNOWS CLOONEY!!!!
so funny she spoke on control. God was probably saying “mama belle, you WILL learn this!” ha!
what a great story!
WHat a fantastic event and teaching!! Something I needed to hear! Glad it all worked out for yoU!
wow! i was freaking out just reading it! God is good.
i LOVE your shirt.
Whew! Thank the Lord, He is in control and it all worked out! Those sort of unexpected happenings are very stressful and I would have been freaking out too. I wish I could have been there….it sounds like I missed out on some great lessons and some great singing.
So, I’m going through sort of drawn-out freak-out situation right now, and boy, did this hit me where it hurts. Sometimes it’s so hard to relinquish control – but when it comes down to it, we’re never really in control anyway, so we might as well accept it and just give it over to Him.
Great story – and so glad it all turned out ok! I know you did an amazing job pulling it all together.