We had to be routed all over the southern U.S. to get back home, because of more cancelled flights and the pilot slowdown. Thankfully, we got to both destinations safely. It required, however, all of my accumulated flight ingenuity and negotiation skills to make it happen. Both flight days were at least 14 hours of mad scramble, with one set of alternative travel arrangements made while we were in transit to the airport. We had confirmed reservations more than a month ahead of departure.
Life can be a lot like that.
We can pray, plan, and prepare, only to see everything rearranged because of circumstances we can't influence. No matter how careful we may be, problems we couldn't have imagined can leave us rushing to recover. Life can become a mad scramble no matter how faithfully, prayerfully, or righteously we have lived. People we love can become unexpectedly ill, or decide to abandon us, or worse. Life can become a fractured mess of broken dreams and confusing mayhem.