Who's To Say?

My husband and I were talking the other day about the beginnings of our relationship. For those of you who don't know, I met him at the SLC airport. He was a passenger, I was a Flight Attendant. BUT, it's not your typical FA/Passenger story. He was NOT on my flight, had missed his and I was NOT supposed to fly but did so out of the goodness and generosity of my heart for Delta Air Lines...

It all started on 23 Feb 2003. It was a Monday and I had just returned home to Salt Lake the day before after having been in Hawaii for a few days and then stopping in Las Vegas to see my best friend. Monday was supposed to be my "recouperate from vacation"day. I did laundry, dusted my lonely apartment and power cleaned the entire abode. Around noon I showered and around 12:30, the phone rang. It was scheduling from Delta telling me that they understood that it was my off day, but would I help them out and pick up the remainder of a trip because one of the FA's was injured.

I did...begrudgingly. The story goes on, I won't bore you all, but it was sweet. I met Brad and little did I know that my life was about to change forever!

We often recall the events of that special day and in fact, he celebrates it each month with a token (gift, card, flowers etc.) to commemorate out meeting. He has never missed a month!

I joked with him (although it's not so much a joke and more a "wish") that he should have found me 30 years earlier! I go on to say that he could have saved us both so much heartache and pain...I blame him (tongue-in-cheek)! Then we got serious and I realized that the very heartache and pain is what formed me into the woman that he fell in love with. Had either one of us NOT endured the experiences of our past lives, who would we really be? I learned the following lessons and they were valuable and priceless.

1. I endured betrayal and heartache and learned to totally forgive and forget. If you think you've forgiven, but you continue to dwell on what happened, you haven't forgotten therefore you haven't forgiven.


2. I am responsible for my own happiness and no one else. Others in my life ADD to my joy and happiness, but they were not responsible for it.


3. Patience is a great blessing. I still haven't mastered it, but I am more patient and understanding of others. My dearest family and friends showed tremendous patience for me and set the example I needed to follow.


4. Unconditional love is the key to success in this life! Again, I haven't mastered this, but I am constantly working on it and I am getting better at it.


5. Temperance is also a great blessing. I have learned to temper myself and "pick my battles". Being a hothead ended up causing a lot of heartache for me.


6. I learned the difference between "Idealism" and "Reality"...


7. A positive attitude will pull you through trials much easier than a negative one.


8. Reliance on the Lord is the ONLY way to survival. I learned that He is the only real constant in my life. He is always there for me and He has experienced all that I have experienced and felt all that I have felt. He is can succor me and give me the strength I need to endure anything.


9. I am a strong woman who doesn't "need" a man in order to feel complete or whole...he enhances who I already am and inspires me to be a better woman.


10. I learned to love myself.

Sometimes I felt like I was walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death...maybe I was, but I have learned that I never have to walk it alone!

So, who's to say that we would have even survived each other had we met 30 years ago! Maybe we both needed to learn the lessons provided by our past lives in order to become the people we are today . I know this, Today we are compatible! Today we are happy. Today we are more self-assured. Today we are strong!

Who's to say??