Some time ago, I was feeling overwhelmed with all that I had on my plate and all that I had been doing. When that happens, I know it’s time for me to step back from it all and if possible to go away. The beach and sun are my favorite get aways. As it was just turning into winter and I live in the Northeast, I knew it would be a while before I’d get that combination of sun and sea. I opted to see if I could get away. When I started looking, everything was in a price range that I wasn’t willing to pay. I have certain criteria when I go away – star hotel, proximity to the beach, consumer reviews among other things.
One day in my searching, something happened. I saw all the things I wanted, in a price range that I was willing to spend. I went ahead and made all the arrangements and booked it. A relief came over me at that point, knowing that I had a trip planned for the relatively near future. Thank God. This was literally hundreds less than what I had seen similar rating packages going for.
Somehow, as I’ve been waiting to go, I’ve gotten antsy. You see, it’s my habit (one of my quirks), to continue to check out newly posted reviews of where I’m going. More often than not, once I’ve booked, I can’t make changes anyway – except this time I can. As I’ve kept looking at other prices, I try to make a mental note that if I’m willing to pay a little more, I can get a slightly higher rated hotel. So, guess what I’ve done? I’ve already called the travel company twice, seeing if I can change to these ‘nicer’ looking hotels. The first time I called, the person and I were having trouble communicating and the end result was, the hotel I was looking at, there was going to be a big difference in cost to switch – not one I wanted to pay.
As usual, I continued looking, and last night I looked at how much my hotel currently is, and compared it to another one on the website – the price difference would be relatively small. Yes, let’s call. I’m willing to pay the small difference to change. Of course when I called, the difference was much larger, because on the day I booked my hotel, I got an amazing price. So, the price that I’m seeing now, is almost twice the current going price. And once again, the cost to switch to this other hotel was going to be much more.
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, the realization has hit me. I was in need of something, and I asked God for it. He answered graciously and provided just what I was looking for, at the price that I could afford. Somehow as I was waiting, I managed to convince myself that I could do better. I guess maybe it seemed too easy, except I forgot that I scoured the internet for months before this deal came up. After speaking with the representative last night, I now know that this was an answer to a prayer that I had.
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for waking me up to remind me how you have provided for me – even in the means of time away that is within my budget. Lord, help me not to forget that when I ask, you answer, but it might not necessarily be the way I expect. Help me to accept your gifts graciously.