Well last year for my sons 18th B-day I took him to FL to
witness the 2nd to last space shuttle launch. It was to be the space shuttle Discovery. I was so excited to share this childhood
memory with him. He was going to write
an article for his school newspaper and they even gave him an amazing camera
for the week to get some good shots of it.
But one of the downsides to a launch is, it might get delayed. Anything from
the weather to mechanical difficulties can delay or postpone a launch indefinitely. So much to my dismay (but not all that
surprising) the Discovery launch was postponed for 3 months and we never got to
see it while we were there. We still had
a great time in FL but I was disappointed not to be able to see one last launch
and share it with my son.
So let’s fast forward to my trip last week. There I was in FL staying with my childhood
best friend and I decide I want to see a sunrise. I am ashamed to say all those years living on
the east coast I never got up early enough to watch a sunrise properly on the
beach. So we very randomly pick a day…How
about Tuesday? Ok sure sounds good. And then we very randomly pick a beach….How
about Eau Gallie Beach? This is a beach
neither of us had ever been to before but we thought…ah why not? It was closer to where she lived and it didn’t
really matter what beach we were on to see a sunrise. So we get up at 5:45 am and head to Starbucks
for our coffee and then we head off to Eau Gallie Beach with our beach chairs,
coffee, and cameras in hand.
There we sat in the sand for about 20 minutes
before the sunrise. I happened to notice
quite a few other people at the beach and thought…WOW…good for them. They are here for the sunrise too. But then a group of guys was walking by and
they walked up to us and asked….So what time is the flight? And I love this part, My dear Shannon says
back to them quite seriously….What flight?
You mean the sunrise?? They laugh
and say no there is a flight from the cape today. So we act like we know nothing about it(cause
we actually knew nothing about it.) And
they walk away shaking their heads at the silly girls. (This was quite a common
theme when we were younger! Ha!) We get
on our phones….Google search….”Oh my” is what Shannon says. The Space Shuttle Discovery is doing a fly by
down the coast on a Boeing 747 for its final farewell to the Space Coast and
afterwards it is on its way to Washington DC to the Smithsonian. The flight path is unsure. I instantly start crying. WHAT??
The space shuttle discovery is flying on a 747 BOEING aircraft down the
coast?!? I can’t even believe what I am
hearing. Not only am I going to see the
Space Shuttle Discovery but it is on a Boeing 747??? My Grandfather retired from Boeing management. He
died about a year and a half ago and he was always so proud to work for Boeing. My two worlds, the place I grew up and the
place I now live were colliding in a BIG way and I could not believe it! SO I stood on the beach and watched an
amazing beautiful sunrise and then I saw it.
There was a plane in the distance and I think I literally held my
breath. I heard someone say next to me….I
think it is turning around(remember no one knew the exact flight path) and I said….No it’s not….it’s coming
here. And here it came…straight to us….UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!!!! The plane was flying very low and it was such
an incredible sight! It flew right to us
and then when it got exactly to our location on the beach it started to turn
around. I still can’t believe it. It was like it flew exactly to us. I could just hear the pilots in the cockpit….We
have a visual of Tiersa and Shannon on the beach, let’s turn around now and
head for D.C. ha!
I had tears streaming down my face.
When it turned around and flew off
Shannon yelled…..Come on! and she took off running after it. So I took off running too and we chased a 747
and the Space Shuttle Discovery down the boardwalk until it was no longer was
in sight.
Afterwards we walked back to our beach chairs in the sand and I sat there
in such awe. I seriously could not stop
crying. I could not of planned that
better if I had tried and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that God had orchestrated
that for me.
It still is so humbling to think that God loves us and knows us that well
that he would do something like that for us.
I mean think about it…I had NO knowledge it was even happening. We picked a random day to see the sunrise. We picked a random beach we had never been
to. The Shuttle flew exactly to us….and
turned around. The beach we would of
normally gone to was Melbourne Beach. We
would of never seen it! It still BLOWS
my mind. And I know what God was telling
me. I’ve got your back. I know you.
I love you. Trust me. I will take you places you can’t even
fathom. This is just the beginning. Even typing this now I can’t help but smile
and shake my head. It just blows my
mind.
Shannon and I stayed on the beach for quite awhile afterwards and a song
we sing in church just popped into my head and I just kept singing over and
over. It goes like this….It’s so amazing, how you love me….It’s so amazing…. Jesus, my God.
And I have to say…It is so amazing how God loves me. I feel blessed beyond measure and I just had to share this story of God’s goodness and mercy in my life!
I know some could say it was all a big coincidence but I know in my heart
it was not. As I’ve said before I don’t
believe in coincidences any more…Only God-incidences. J
deep breath....smile....mmmmm.....what else can I say!
ReplyDeleteWell I could not think of a better person to share that amazing day with. Love you! XOXO
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