TINY MIRACLES CAN MEAN THE MOST

Wow. This past weekend was SUCH a whirlwind! For those who do not follow me on Instagram, I decided to make a spontaneous trip to go see Max. He works with the Florida Atlantic baseball team + this past weekend, they traveled to Bowling Green, KY for a weekend series. I made the decision on Wednesday to leave early Saturday morning from Columbus, OH which is approximately 1 hour + 15 minutes away from my apartment in Athens. I was able to find a greyhound route that would put me in Bowling Green, KY early Saturday morning + leave on Sunday afternoon. This had to be a quick trip because of the spontaneous planning, but nonetheless, was worth it to see him.

Originally Scheduled Trip

Depart Columbus, OH at 2:20 a.m. to Cincinnati, OH – arrival at 4:15 a.m.

Transfer to another bus in Cincinnati to take me the rest of the way to Bowling Green, KY – this transfer bus was to leave at 4:45 a.m.

***This is important to the story – notice there is only a 30 minute timeframe for me to make my transfer to a new bus.

What Actually Happened

There is no parking near the greyhound station in Columbus that would allow me to park my car from early Saturday morning until later Sunday night into early Monday morning (my scheduled arrival back to Columbus was 11:50 pm). So I decided to leave early from my apartment so that I could park in a shuttle lot at the airport that is only $5 per day. I would then Uber to/from the greyhound which is about a 10-minute drive.

So… I parked my car at the shuttle lot + walked out of the gates to get into my first Uber going to the greyhound station in Columbus. I get out of the car, walk in, + wow. I didn’t know what to expect because this was my first time ever riding a greyhound. I see a bunch of waiting seats + doors with numbers above them, which I assumed were your “gate” numbers so to speak. I look up at the monitor + notice it says my bus to Cincinnati is going to be delayed. BY AN HOUR + A HALF. So now instead of arriving at 4:15 a.m., it wouldn’t arrive until 5:30 a.m. I immediately walked up to the front desk to ask if there was anything that could be done. Do they hold the buses like they do planes? Will I make the connecting transfer? How will I get to the next place I need to go? All questions I asked just to get some answers. Unfortunately, I did not have the nicest response. “Of course, you will not make your connection if your bus is delayed an hour + a half. It doesn’t make sense that if your bus is late, you’ll make the next one? + we do not take care of that here. You have to wait until you get to Cincinnati + then figure it out there.” So not helpful + rude as well. I immediately started tearing up because I only have a limited time with Max as it is. I was so overwhelmed with everything, I called him + burst into tears. The customer service reps told me to call the customer service line in order to determine the next bus from Cincinnati. Why couldn’t they do it, you ask? I have no idea. But after her snarky response earlier, I wanted nothing to do with her.

I call Max, call the customer service lady, call max again. The next bus from Cincinnati wouldn’t leave until 11:50 a.m. meaning I would have to sit in Cincinnati for 6 hours. In a bus station for 6 hours. That is the last thing I wanted to do. There was one other option.

Drive the hour + a half to Cincinnati + get there in time to catch the 4:45 a.m. scheduled bus. I had enough adrenaline to get me through another hour + a half of driving, but I was anxious. SO anxious. Max found a parking lot near the greyhound in Cincinnati that was $7 for 24 hours that he believed could be paid via phone app. But what if this lot didn’t work? What if it wasn’t as easy as showing up + downloading an app to pay for parking? It was pouring rain, lightening, thundering. All of it. I was having a hard time seeing the road + a verse came to me. Philippians 4:6 (KJV) – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer + supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” I said this verse over + over + over again. I then prayed over + over + over to please make this parking situation a speedy process because I did not want to miss the bus from Cincinnati. I turned on my Spotify playlist + listened to a song that has struck a chord with me lately. It is “Even If” by MercyMe. My favorite portion of the song goes like this:

I know you’re able + I know you can, save through the fire with your mighty hand

But even if you don’t, my hope is you alone.

I know the sorrow + I know the hurt; would all go away if you just say the word

But even if you don’t, my hope is you alone

MercyMe

I listened to this song on repeat until I reached the parking lot. Which was very easy to manage! My prayer of easy parking was most definitely answered.

Then I walk into the Cincinnati bus station. + guess what???? The bus leaving from Cincinnati was on a delay AS WELL. This one was on a two-hour delay (I think due to bus problems leaving another location – again, weather was terrible). I again call Max + have another breakdown. I just drove an hour + a half to get to a bus on time. + now this bus wasn’t even here. What a failure I felt like. I thought I had figured it out. <— That’s the big problem right there. I realized that I had fixed something myself without even asking God what He thought about me going to Cincinnati. I have no idea what the resulting answer would have been. But I figured out a plan + it backfired. I was notified that the bus was going to be at least 2 hours late, went to the bathroom + cried it out. + immediately turned back on the song “Even If”. I knew that there was no way I could do this on my own but admitted to God that I was beyond frustrated. I was tired because I had pulled an all nighter (which I have only done ONCE in my entire life!) + had no idea how long I would be there. I told Him that I was done trying to plan this. I had done what I knew to do and was giving it to Him.

A bus shows up at 6:00 a.m. + they announce over the intercom that if you were on the original bus to Nashville (the last stop of my bus), then this was the new bus we would be taking. I was one of the tiny additional stops on the original bus. They were going to combine 2 rides + stop in the major cities, so everyone would have to get off at the first stop in Louisville, KY to determine which new bus they would transfer to in order to get where they are going to. I was able to sleep a little bit on the bus to Louisville (I brought a pillow, blanket, + my eye pillow) + woke up when we got to the station. They again explained that if you were not going to Nashville, you needed to exit the bus + go into the station + determine when + which bus you would be taking to get to your final destination. I packed up all of my things + started praying that my time in the bus station be short but that even if God did not pull the strings for that to happen, my hope was still in Him.

Then only a miracle of God happened. I was sitting in the middle of the bus + heard a man ask the driver if there was a Darby Hooton traveling to Bowling Green on the bus. I screamed “Yes that’s me!!!” + they called me off of the bus. They told me to run to the bus to the left because they were holding it for me to be able to get on it!!!! Y’ALL I WAS IN AWE! This was surely a miracle of God that these people thought about ME. One person trying to get to a little city in Kentucky. Funny thing is – this bus was headed straight to Nashville, but they are making a quick stop in Bowling Green just to drop me off. I knew God had stepped in + guided them to make the decisions they did. I did not have to wait in the bus station at all! I immediately got on + we left. I was in awe. Just in pure awe of what God did before my eyes.

Me being the emotional human I am, cried when I got to my seat. I had experienced a miracle of God. I could have been in a situation much worse + more frustrating that what I had experienced. In the end, I was dropped off in Bowling Green, KY. One of the few people to get off of the bus. But after a heck of a night, I made it only 1 hour later than expected.

I know this was a long post but if you read it through the end – THANK YOU! I hope this story sheds light on the fact that any amount of faith, big or small, can make simple things become extraordinary miracles. I firmly count this as a miracle in my book + forever will cherish the fact I was able to spend that day with Max for more time than I anticipated with all of the changes. I hope this encourages you to lean on God for ALL THINGS!

have you experienced a miracle recently? Anything at all! Share in a comment below (: