People make plans, but God decides
We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps
--- Proverbs 16:9 (New Living Translation)
We had planned a big family reunion for Easter. My parents and siblings live in different parts of the world and it had been years since we had all met together. Everyone was really looking forward to the reunion, everyone was making preparations for it. Half of the people would be staying at my parents' house, and they had been excited for weeks, making sure everything was ready for the guests. They were even getting winter clothes for my sister's family, who are used to tropical weather and have only seen snow on TV.
Then the war in Iran broke out, and all plans were ruined. Flights were canceled, and for weeks there was no reliable information whether my sister's family would be able to get to us at all. After several emails and another significant amount if money they managed to re-book tickets for another route that avoided the Middle East. They had already packed their suitcases and were ready to leave to the airport, and we were waiting for them to notify us about their departure.
Instead, suddenly a completely different message arrived. My sister took her husband to the emergency room because she had discovered signs of a stroke. He was operated on that very evening. It was lucky that she noticed the signs and that the surgery was performed relatively quickly. Thank God, he has been much better since then, but he still has another surgery to do in a few weeks. In any case, their trip was ruined.
We were all very sad and disappointed, but life often seems to be unpredictable and unfair. By now, we have mostly managed to process the shock, and it also helped that my other sister's family will come anyway, and then my brother's too. But the meeting will still not be the same. This was the first time I would have met my sister's family in person, COVID and distance did not allow for a personal meeting. For now, video calls are the way to go.