Watching the Waves?

My husband and I were looking forward to the best vacation ever. Bryan had been in a serious car accident a year earlier and was still in a wheelchair, so we were looking forward to time away. He had purchased a package to Orlando including airfare, five nights in the Embassy Suites, and a rental car.

A week before our departure, he discovered that a glitch online had prevented the website from confirming our reservations. So we might not be able to take this much-needed time.

Fortunately, the Customer Service Rep for the website spent an hour on the phone, booking other plane reservations and reserving a larger car for an additional $25. But the hotel was full, so she managed to get us a private house instead.

Thank you, Lord, for taking care of us!

Since Bryan had broken an arm, a leg, and some ribs, he couldn’t lift anything. So I got to load all our luggage in and out of the car. I was “glistening” (the feminine form of sweating) before we even made it to the plane.

On the flight, we wanted to watch TV, so I had $10 to give the flight attendant. Since she would only take a credit card, I stuffed the cash into my jacket pocket. When we arrived at Orlando, I had to push not only Bryan’s wheelchair but also the luggage cart with all our bags through the airport. With all the juggling of the vehicles, my jacket lying on top of our luggage disappeared, never to be seen again, along with my ten dollars.

Getting the rental car was a breeze, but when we got to our vacation home, it was a two-story, not the ranch we requested. Bryan was still recovering from his broken leg and couldn’t go up and down the stairs to the bedroom.

That’s when I lost it, crying uncontrollably.

The lady managing the vacation homes had to finish cleaning one house, then find us another place. We had two hours to just sit and wait – my least favorite thing to do.

Okay, God, you’ve taken us this far. Why did you forsake us now? We need a place to sleep for five nights. I didn’t really believe he would come through for us.

But he was patient with me, as always.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the air conditioning for the house we were waiting in didn’t work. So the fan was pulling lovely 80-degree humid air into the house. In addition to being inconvenienced, we were uncomfortable. More glistening.

Well, we finally got directions to another house and headed over. This one was a single-story, recently built like our own house. Plus, the kitchen cabinets were identical to ours in Colorado and the kitchen table and chairs were just like ours from Oak Express.

These dishes were waiting for me, God’s calling card

To top it off, the table was set with – you guessed it – the same dishes as we had in our kitchen. My tears flowed freely.

“Now what?” asked Bryan.

Smiling through my tears, I replied, “We’re home!”

I should have known God would come through. God had protected Bryan in an accident that could have easily killed him. We had moved into a single-story home months before Bryan’s accident, so he could maneuver without a problem. He was recovering nicely and got the okay to travel. And my bonus from work covered the cost of the entire vacation.

So why did I doubt?

Sometimes we lose sight of our perspective. Kind of like Peter, who walked on water until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves. That’s when he saw what he was facing and gave up. When I take my eyes off what Jesus has for me, I start doubting his ability – and mine. Same thing when God doesn’t answer my prayers like I want.

How about we make a plan? When we start looking at the “waves” around us, let’s have a little talk with God, maybe read some promises in his letter to us, and look up, not at all the stuff that would pull us down.

That way, the choppy waters won’t seem so intimidating.

 

2 comments

  1. Wow, Debbie! I love this story and I couldn’t wait to get to the end to see the final outcome. Grateful the Lord does care for us in a passionate and intimate way. And He cares about all the fine details. Even when the wait is long and plans mess up along the way, He’s right there smack dab in the middle working behind the scenes. 🙂

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