When Plans Change....

I had it all planned out. Ever since June I knew what I wanted to do for Alayna's 16th birthday. She listened to the music, played the music on the piano, and sang the music constantly! She even had watched the movie with friends many, many times. It was perfect. I researched all the information, and asked others who had gone if they had any special advice for me. I was so excited. Ironically, when I was considering when would be the best time to go, I remember thinking that if we went in August we wouldn't have to worry about the weather. Ha!

Earlier this week, I know I "tortured" some of my blog readers when I left them hanging with this picture, wondering what I was inviting Alayna to...

Well, here is what the card revealed...

When she read that, her mouth dropped open (as you saw), and she was *slightly* excited. She texted her friend, Noreen, right away and she was *slightly* excited as well. Needless to say, we were all *slightly* excited. :-) So this past month we have finalized plans, figuring out all the details of our upcoming NYC adventure.

All was well until.....Hurricane Irene decided to show up.

I really didn't think too much about it. I knew there was a hurricane coming, but I didn't think that would really affect us other than perhaps we should bring a couple of umbrellas along.

I was wrong.

Sitting in the office yesterday at work, I was trying to stay focused, all the while just getting really excited about the next day's adventures.

Then my cell phone rang. It was my Mom. When she asked me if I was sitting down, I knew that it couldn't be good news. A horrible feeling of dread washed over me.

"New York City is completely shutting down all means of transportation tomorrow in preparation for Hurricane Irene. We have no way of getting there to see the show."

Pause....

"Becky?"

I just sat there, stunned...and numb. I just couldn't believe that this was happening! You know how it is when you have looked forward to something for SO long only to have it swiped away from you at the last minute?! I really didn't know what to expect now. The tickets clearly stated that there were no exchanges or refunds, so I basically thought that I had spent lots of $$$ for nothing, and poor Alayna would have no special birthday memories.

THANKFULLY after about 30 minutes of being on hold for customer service, I finally got through to someone to discover that since the shows were being cancelled, everyone was going to be reimbursed for their tickets!! Also, I was able to reorder tickets right away for a later date. It was QUITE the relief!

Oh yes...the disappointments of life! I kept asking myself WHY would this hurricane have to come on THIS weekend? The weekend I had planned for months! But as I blinked back tears of disappointment, I was reminded of the fact that God is in control of everything, and He knew this was going to happen from the very beginning. Why did it happen? Maybe we would have gotten into an accident, or maybe the actor playing the Phantom would have gotten a sore throat and wouldn't have sung as good??? Who knows?! God does. And although I have complained a lot more than I should have (shame on me), ultimately I have to trust that "all things work together for good."

So yes, hopefully everything will work out for us to go see Phantom of the Opera in New York City on Saturday, September 10! But, as I am discovering more and more in life...plans change whether you want them to or not! I've got to learn to be flexible and let God be in control. :-)