Being grateful in all circumstances

A subtitle for my article: “When not to complain” on this Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, came to me recently while travelling south to Florida.

I would like to share my thoughts with you today when love is in the air, the anticipation rising that you will be honoured today by someone who loves you and cares enough to make this day special and meaningful whether it be your spouse, your children or a friend.

My wife and I had stopped at Fredericksburg, Va., for our third night on the road in January. Shirley had found a lodging that advertised the low price of $45 per night or longer term rates for those who wanted to rent monthly. It seemed upon registration to be a loving community and we expected to have a restful evening after our all-day driving. It wasn’t long after when we climbed up the outside 20 steep, cement steps to the top floor carrying our luggage that I began to wonder what we would meet when we arrived at our room.

What, there was no elevator, I thought? My list of complaints grew upon being admitted to our room. Perhaps I was tired and cranky after the long day of driving.

The inside room light was burnt out, but fortunately one of the lamps worked. There were blood stains (or so they looked like blood stains) on the carpet and immediately my mind wondered if some murder had been committed at one time or another and they were a reminder to make sure your door was kept locked. The bathroom worked but you had to squeeze yourself sideways to get into it and the bed was as hard as a rock.

I couldn’t help at that moment but think of our friend Wendy who would have immediately bailed out of that room faster than you could blink an eye. We decided to settle for the night after weighing the odds of trying to find a more suitable room at that late time of day.

The next morning, after a fitful sleep, we went down to breakfast and it was this point in my experience I began to encounter the Lord’s presence and felt the shame of being in such a complaining mood.

Breakfast was in a small corner of the reception room and the lady on duty seemed genuinely appreciative of us being there. I asked if I could use their bathroom in this motel lobby and she directed me to the passage. I had to almost climb over the crates in the back room to find it but I was thankful I did not have to climb the steep, cement steps back to our room.

Children streamed into the lobby to grab a bite and to greet the older lady on duty who seemed to be so loving and kind, just like she was a mother to them all. These were families who could not find affordable housing and could barely exist if it wasn’t for the cheaper monthly rates given to them by the hotel. The motel was their home.

After a brief conversation they went back outside to wait for their school bus. Parents dropped in to say hello and the atmosphere was very friendly. We left feeling that we had an encounter with God for the love that filled that lobby through all the people who had come in and greeted us as if we were their family. We felt their genuine interest and friendship.

As we prepared to leave Fredericksburg that morning we stopped first for fuel only to discover that the gas tank cover door would not open. The switch to open it became disconnected. My anxiety level was starting to rise. What were we going to do? We needed fuel and the fuel cover would not open. It just so happened that there was a mechanic on duty who immediately came to our rescue and disconnected the cord entirely so the cover would then open from the outside. A small but important miracle occurred, for this service station was the only one that had a mechanic on duty we were later told.

Later, that same day, while travelling through North Carolina, we saw a large billboard that summed up our earlier experiences that read: “Beyond reasonable doubt, Jesus is alive.”

Looking back, we had absolutely nothing to complain about for God had chosen a more excellent path for us to travel and along the way we had met the people of the Lord waiting to bless us through their difficult circumstances.

On this special Valentine’s Day, be thankful in all circumstances and let God’s love breakthrough with this reminder to the ones you love that: “Beyond reasonable doubt, Jesus is alive.”