A Happy "Storyline" After All

Last summer my daughter and I heard that our favourite recording artist Hunter Hayes was coming to a nearby town that December for his “Tattoo Your Name" tour. To say that we were ecstatic and overjoyed was truly an understatement. We had been following Hunter and his touring schedule for quite some time on social media and were huge fans of his incredible talents. Not only is he extremely gifted musically, but also is a very well -grounded individual who is really a great role model for today’s youth. The fact that we were going to go to that concert was a given, but when I heard about a local radio contest to win a pair of tickets, I was immediately intrigued and very enthusiastically on board. Little did I know what was in store for me on this wild and crazy quest to get tickets.
One of Hunter’s songs is called Invisible. The radio station put out a challenge to email in your best “invisible” picture to win tickets. At first as you might imagine, I was very confused. How do you take a picture of something invisible? As I read more about it on the website, I understood and then thought of some really cool options. Basically what you were supposed to do was to send in a picture with something missing, yet imply that it was there. I came up with some great ones in my humble opinion. I sent my bare left hand to show off my awesome, invisible engagement ring. My mom showcased her shoulder to show off her impressive, invisible tattoo which was another of Hunter’s songs. I thought of everything from the invisible yard sale, to the invisible kids' first day of school, to my personal favourite which was the invisible man takes the Ice Bucket Challenge. As the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was all the rage that summer, I thought it was genius! I cannot lie. I was very proud of myself and my creativity and was quite sure that I was a key contender for the coveted pair of tickets. In total I sent in about 30 pictures, so needless to say I was very optimistic about my chances. Well sadly, to my disappointment I did not win as I had misunderstood and thought the most creative picture would win the tickets. This was not the case. It was simply for every picture you sent in, you had one more chance in a random draw to win. I was discouraged, yet still fiercely determined to still try to win tickets.

---

Faithfully I tuned in to our local country music station as they were giving away tickets daily to a “certain” caller. I could do this! I would not give up and I so wanted to tell my daughter I had done this for us. Well as fate would have it, on a day that I had very little faith, my second chance to win tickets miraculously arrived.  After hearing the phone ring and ring and ring to the radio station, to my shock, the radio host actually answered. I was the “right” caller! I had won the tickets! I was ecstatic and so proud of myself that my persistence had paid off. Wrong! This particular day you had to answer a trivia question about Hunter to win the tickets. The host said “Now listen carefully …” as he proceeded to read at lightning speed, a very impressive list of facts about Hunter. My mind was racing. My heart was pounding! I kept thinking what else could I say that he hasn’t mentioned already? Truth be told, I wasn’t even listening because I was reviewing Hunter Hayes' song titles and other interesting facts about him in my mind like a mad woman. What happened next is a very painful memory for me that left me in heartbreak and tears. To this day I still cringe. The host asked me two very fair questions about things that he had just mentioned about Hunter, yet to my horror I could not recall either of them. I felt sick. I desperately tried to remember as I frantically said to the gracious and patient host “I knew I should have written things down!” My heart sunk as he said “I’m so sorry Dana. Keep trying o.k.?” Not only was I so discouraged about losing the tickets, I was also extremely embarrassed for not winning what was a very fair contest.

My family was very supportive of me and felt very bad about the whole scenario. They actually found it quite humorous, but I still could not see anything to laugh about at that particular time. Still I was determined to get the tickets somehow. It became an obsession. I had no problem paying for them, it was just that they were to go on sale when I was at work and I was so afraid they would sell out. Here’s where the story gets real interesting. When I least expected it and when I felt that going to the concert may never be a reality for me, a light came through the darkness from none other than Hunter Hayes himself! What? Yes my friends, it is true. That night on Facebook on his page Hunter was advertising a presale for his biggest fans. I one of his biggest fans, not to mention at present very discouraged fan, felt suddenly very optimistic. By entering the word “flashlight” you could beat the box office and purchase tickets ahead of time. I jumped at the chance to finally have my long sought after tickets. We purchased what was called the “Wild Card Package” which was based on another one of his songs. We had excellent seats and little did we know just how close to Hunter we would actually get that night.  There was a little stage right beside our seats and when we inquired what it was for to a security person, he proudly replied “Hunter is coming out to sing right there!” Could we be any more lucky and excited?

Well the concert was amazing as we anticipated and we could not have had a better time. We wore bracelets that lit up in different colours that pulsated to the song beats, got lots of great pictures and made some wonderful memories we will always cherish. My daughter kept saying over and over again “This is the best night of my life!" I was determined that my quest for Hunter Hayes tickets would have a happy ending and we got it! I can laugh about it now, but for a while this was painful for me to talk about as silly as it sounds.

So what was the reason for sharing this little story? Well you know me and know by now I find the “little lesson,” in many of life’s most painful moments. I included this to remind everyone, myself included that things that are important to us are worth fighting for, no matter how big or small and that a bad situation can get better when we least expect it. I was determined to get tickets, yet getting them was not easy. I suffered disappointment, embarrassment, frustration and stress, but I was eventually successful in the end by my decision to not give up.  Securing concert tickets are one thing. Trust me I realize many of us have much more serious things we are fighting for. In many areas of life we are striving to better a situation, yet try as we may, we see no change in sight.  It is during those times that I encourage you to not lose hope. Keep the faith. Just like Hunter himself coming to my rescue over a pair of tickets with the word “flashlight,” a light will come into your dark situation, if you are patient, diligent and willing to realize that important things in life take time to materialize. Sometimes we can be so close to a positive change or breakthrough in our lives, but just can’t see it. God is with us and wants to help our darkness turn to light and to turn our tears to joy. Trust me if He saw fit to get me a pair of concert tickets which is a small thing in this thing called life, He is able to partner with you in the bigger things. A song I often sing is called He’ll Find a Way.
The chorus states:

“For I know that if He can paint a sunset and put the stars in place,
If He can move a mountain and calm the storm tossed waves,

If He can conquer death forever to open Heaven’s gates,
I know for you, He’ll see you through!
He’ll find a way!”

My complicated quest for Hunter Hayes tickets had a happy ending after all. I am believing for that for you too in what your heart is seeking. No matter how big or small your struggle may be, there is never anything too difficult that God cannot solve. Be encouraged!

Until next time,

~ Dana

Psalms 37:4 ~ Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Little Lesson Learned: Breakthroughs come often when we least expect them. Hang in there!

Copyright: littlelessonslearnedbydana, 2015