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Isn’t it amazing that we seem to enjoy waiting for everything to fall in place before we do what we know we ought to do?

We wait to feel better before we accept that we are healed.

We wait for goose pimples before we admit that we believe.

We  wait to feel better before we encourage others.

We wait to make more money before we give.

We wait to be appreciated before we celebrate others.

We wait to be motivated before we reach for our dreams.

We wait to have the contacts and connections before we start the business.

We wait to be fired before we release the enterpreneurs in us.

We wait for  financial crises before we take responsibility for our finances.

We wait for the doctor’s diagnosis before we take care of our health.

We wait for birthdays and christmas before we celebrate and celebrate with people.

We wait for the government to fix the Nation.

We wait for our spouses to provide what we should also contribute towards.

We wait for our kids to be better before we become better parents.

We wait for the pastor to preach until his nose bleeds before we obey God,

We wait for…

Ok.Seems I’ve been talking to much.Tell me.What are you waiting for?

On a serious note, I really want to know.

I might as well cut to the chase and tell you how i missed my flight.

When I woke on monday morning, I spent a few moments thanking God for the precious gift of another day.

I had a quick breakfast of oats and headed for the airport, hoping to make the first flight to Lagos.The light was scheduled for 9:15 am.Unfortunately, I had been (mis)informed by an acquaintance that the flight was for 9:30 am so as you may have guessed,  the plane had taken off by the time I got to the airport.  I was told that the next flight was for 12:30pm. Thank God, my hosts were still around.I would have probably been bored to death if they had left the airport.

I secured my ticket for the next flight and decided to take a quick tour of the city rather than lounge in the airport.

My very good friend, Flourish (yes, that’s his real name)  was familiar with the terrain, so he was the “tour guide” and my fantastic host, Christina was my fellow tourist. We drove around the city and visited two of the four Universities that the city boasts of-the University of Benin and Benson Idahosa University where I was able to pick up a few books to nourish my mind and refresh my spirit. We also saw landmarks like the mausoleum where the body of the legendary Archbishop Benson Idahosa was interred. We walked into the Faith Arena.

We drove past the Oba’s palace and Flourish was kind enough to tell me some veeeery interesting tales about the city.Then we headed for the airport.On arriving at the airport, passengers were already on the queue to board our plane.I immediately joined the queue and waved my Flourish and Christina bye.

Just as I was about to get on board, one of the flight attendants asked for my boarding pass…then it occured to me that I hadn’t checked in.I had been carried away by my sight-seeing.Checking in had totally skipped my mind.Of course you can’t fly if you don’t check in-that’s the protocol.My adrenaline began to rush in reverse.I had a lot to do in Lagos that afternoon and I urged the attendant to get me a seat.He obliged but  on the condition that there were still seats available.He counted the ticket stubs and voila…they were exactly the number of seats on board,the plane was full.I was upset…with myself but my displeasure didn’t last much longer.There were two of us who missed that flight.We saw the plane take off and disappear into the distance.

The other lady was terribly disheartened. but I  wasn’t  sad for too long.

You may wonder why.

Several reasons but primarily because I had to console the other lady.She was in tears because missing that flight to Lagos also meant she was missing the flight from Lagos…to Maiduguri! worse still, she had cancelled her flight the previous day and…everything seemed to be going wrong!

Well, we had to wait till 5pm. I called my hosts and they came back to pick me.We spent some time at the lounge of a cozy hotel and ate some bowlfuls of “eba”( a traditional african dish) before heading for the airport.This time, I checked in forty minutes before my flight.Lesson learnt.One of the attendants that I had made friends with earlier gave me a front seat and I had enough room to myself.

I got some time to chat with the other lady and by the time I left her, she was smiling. We had a smooth flight to Lagos and I was still able to do most of what I had scheduled for the day.The day ended well and I’m still counting my blessings because I learnt a couple of lessons…

• Get the right information.If I had known the first flight was scheduled for 9:15, I would have made it to the airport in good time
• Never forget to check in.
• Don’t spent too much time frolicking that you forget the business of the day.
• There’s a blessing in every disappointment.In spite of the disappointment, I had the privilege of lifting someone’s burden and putting a smile on her face and I got a front seat with enough space to lounge.
• Never let a disappointment rob you of your appointment.I was still able to do the things I wantde to do in Lagos. 
• No matter how many flights you miss, don’t miss the last one.You may have missed  out on many  opportunities in life but there’s another one right in front of you-don’t miss it!

Enough said.

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