Today was supposed to go according to plan.
I had an early flight to West Palm Beach, heading into a walk-through of a $47M+ company.
It was meant to be a Gamechanger experience coordinated by Howard Partridge and the Inner Circle.
But weather and airline logistics had other ideas.
My connecting flights were cancelled. There were no reasonable options to make it in time.
So instead of flying toward “opportunity,” I found myself grounded in Portland.
But that’s when the real purpose showed up.
I stopped at a little airport bistro for breakfast. An older woman circled a few tables before sitting next to me. Her name was Karen—not that Karen—and she was delightful. We talked about travel, gratitude, and our kids. She gave me a small gift, and I shared a purple smiley pin with her.
Then Sarah (with an H, of course!) served us. Full of joy, humor, and excellent service, she lit up the space. I left her a yellow smiley card. As I was leaving, she ran after me.
She had seen her therapist the day before and prayed that people would notice her joy more than her anxiety. She said, “Then you gave me the Smiley.”
On the way out, I passed a pianist playing “What a Wonderful Name It Is”. I caught myself singing, turned around, and tipped him. Quietly, I thanked the Big Guy upstairs.
Sometimes God interrupts our carefully crafted agendas to orchestrate something even more impactful.
We don’t always need a boarding pass to arrive exactly where we’re needed.
Today, I was the one who was stranded—but maybe I was exactly where I needed to be. And thanks to a few smiley face pins and a little intentional kindness, three lives were impacted.
Not a wasted trip. Just a re-routed one.
~ Cheri Perry
#LetsShareASMILE
#DivineInterruptions
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