You might not believe this,
But did you know that
Everything Always Works Out For Me?

I’ve been learning more
About how
Thoughts are optional.
And beliefs are thoughts
That we just repeat over and over
Until they make an imprint
Like a well-worn river
Or a walking trail on the carpet.

So I was inspired by my sister
To try on this thought,
Like a hat:
“Everything always works out for me.”
Because I want to believe that.

And
You know how,
When you get a new car
You suddenly start to notice
All the other ones
On the road
That are just like yours,
That you maybe you didn’t notice before?

It’s been like that.

So I just want to share two stories
That happened just recently:

Story #1: Travel day
and
Story #2: The orthodontist

Story #1:
Travel day

Once upon a time,
I was flying home
With my mom and sisters
After visiting my other sister
For her beautiful baby shower.

I was feeling slightly anxious
Because I had a middle seat
Between 2 strangers
Instead of my preferred
Aisle seat
Because I had booked
My ticket separately.
So the night before our flight,
I checked the seat map
To try to change
My seat assignment.
But there was nowhere to move
Because the flight was completely full.
And so I reasoned
It was only a 2-hour flight.
It would be fine.

On the morning of our departure
We got the notification
That the flight was delayed.

Potential thoughts in that moment:
This is bad.
What if it keeps getting delayed
And ultimately it gets cancelled
And I can’t get home tonight
And be with my family?

Potential feelings:
Frustration
Anxiety
Panic

The thought I chose
In that moment was:
Everything always works out for me.
I wonder what will happen!
Maybe we will get a bonus night
Where we are all together!

Feelings:
Curiosity
Peace that everything will be okay,
No matter what happens.

And then,
We had more time
To say goodbye
To my cute pregnant sister
And her cute husband
And their cute dog.

And then
We went to the airport.

We decided
To go to the Sky Lounge.
It cost me $50
But it was going to be
A couple of hours
Before our plane left,
So I paid.

But after looking at the food options
There wasn’t much there
That was gluten free.

So one of my sisters
And I
Decided to go to a restaurant
In the airport
To eat.

At the restaurant,
I was fully prepared
To order my sandwich –
A salmon BLT
With chimichurri AND aioli
(Two of my love languages) –
Without a bun
And eat it like a salad
Which is pretty typical.
And it’s good.

But then
The server told me
They actually had
Gluten free buns!
Which might not sound like
A miracle
Unless you have ever tried
To eat gluten-free
At an airport.
But the miracle wasn’t just
That they had them –
The bun actually
Tasted great.

And THEN!
Our lunch was a total
Of $2
Because the airline
Had given us meal vouchers!

And THEN!
We went back up to
The Sky Lounge.
We told the attendants
That I had paid
But then I ended up
Not eating there
And not using it,
And was there any way
Please
They might refund the $50?
Mind you,
They had no way
To verify that.
Just our word.
But they did it
Without question
And without attitude.
So THAT was unexpected!

But also,
I was looking for it
Because I was practicing
Thinking the thought:
EAWOFM.

And THEN!
As they were boarding the plane,
We were waiting
For our zone
To be called,
And my sister
Happened to look
At the seat map.
And because
The flight had been delayed,
The plane
That had been completely full
That morning,
Now had
LOTS OF EMPTY SEATS!
So 2 minutes before I boarded,
I changed my assignment
To an aisle seat –
My preference –
A couple of rows away
From my mom and sisters.

And THEN!
Because the flight was delayed,
Once we were all boarded
No one was sitting
In the middle seat
Between my 2 sisters.
So one of them
Moved to the middle seat
And I now had an aisle
By my family.

And THEN!
They even had the movie
That I wanted to finish
With the English subtitles!
I had watched most of it
On a previous flight,
But landed
With 30 minutes
Of the movie
Remaining.
And I couldn’t find it anywhere
Once I got home
Because it was in Japanese
And apparently
It is not available in the U.S.
At all.
Much less, in English.
But this time!
EAWOFM!
Side note:
It was such a sweet movie
Called “1st Kiss”
In case you are on a flight
And you want to also watch it.
Or you’re in Japan.

And another magical miracle
That I wasn’t expecting,
Is that
When everything works out for me,
It also works out
For other people!

Because the flight was delayed,
There were more seats
On the plane.
So when I moved
To sit by my family,
I told the 2 guys
Who were sitting by me
That they could have my seat.
So the one in the middle
Moved to the aisle.
And they were grateful
To have more room.

And also
Because the flight was delayed,
My husband was able to work longer
Before picking me up
From the airport.
And because his work was done,
We stopped and had
An impromptu date night
On the way home
From the airport.
And we lived happily ever after.

Because
EAWOFM!

Story #2:
The orthodontist

Okay, so admittedly,
The start of this one
Is kind of boring.

Once upon a time,
My Kid #5
Had an orthodontist appointment.

We arrived at the office
A little bit later
Than the appointment time
Which (I thought) was 2:40 pm,
Because in the summer
It’s a little harder
For us to be on time
When we are so out of our routine.
Bless.

So we checked in.
And a few minutes later,
The receptionist
Called Kid #4’s name…
NOT Kid #5,
Who I had brought with me.

Ummmm…

I asked the receptionist:
Was the appointment today for Kid #4?

She said:
Yes.
At 2:55.
But #5 has an appointment on Monday…

I had brought the wrong kid
At the wrong time.
Gurl.

But, with a quick reminder
Of my ongoing reframe,
I said:
Okayyyy,
No problem.

(Because EAWOFM.)

I called Kid #3
Because Kid #3 and Kid #4
Were about to leave
To go shopping.

I told them:
So actually,
This appointment today
Is for Kid #4.
Oops.
So, could you please
Stop by here
On your way
To the store?

They said:
Sure, no problem.

(Because EAWOFM!)

So while I definitely did
Think about
Berating myself
For these oversights
Plural –
The wrong time
And
The wrong kid –
It definitely did
Work out.

And because I had gotten
The appointment time wrong,
We had arrived early
And not late.
And that also meant
The right kid got there
Pretty close
To the right appointment time.

And THEN!
In the meantime,
While we were waiting
For the right kid to get there,

The receptionist said:

Since you’re here,
Do you want me to see
If they can get Kid #5 in?
That way, you don’t have to
Come in on Monday?

Yes please!

And they did.

So my mistakes
Actually worked out for me.

And not just me,
But for everyone involved.

And I’m not sharing
These stories
Because I’m trying to brag.

I don’t think I’m God’s favorite
Any more than you are.
In other words,
I believe I am God’s favorite
And so are you.

And I’m sharing
Because I truly believe
That if you also
Want to try on this hat –
AKA Thought –
Until it’s a belief,
I think you’ll see miracles too.

And after I shared this
With my dear friend Andrea,
She asked me,
“What about the times when
It doesn’t seem like
Everything is working out for you?”

Such a great question!

And I told her
That in those times
I hope I remember
That they still are.

Because the Lord Himself said:
“Search diligently,
pray always,
and be believing,
and ALL things
shall work together
FOR YOUR GOOD…”
D&C 90:24

So He basically said
Everything
Always
Works
Out
For
Me
And
For
You.

So maybe
In my stories
Nothing in my life
Actually changed.
Maybe I’m just looking for it
And so I’m noticing it more,
Like other cars
That look like mine
On the road.

But maybe
Just maybe
In thinking that thought
And remembering that promise,
Things actually have changed.

Either way,
It’s been so much fun
To diligently seek.
And I’m so incredibly grateful.
And I can’t wait to see
What happens next….