Interruption
My friend and I were preparing to check out of our hotel. We had attended my granddaughter’s equestrian event and enjoyed a bit of spa time (a rare event for me). Suddenly the power went out. In a few moments we had lights. But, the elevators down to the lobby were out of commission: All six of them. We were stranded on the 25th floor. A minor interruption or a major dilemma?
Choices
I looked out the window at the water. Too far to jump, way too many flights of stairs to carry our luggage down, and a major issue was security had to open the stairwells? What??? Isn’t that a major safety violation??? I mean what if………. Well never mind, “I will think about that tomorrow,” to quote a famous Southern diva.
Flash of the Past
As I gazed out the window, I remembered 9/11. The day most Americans will never forget if they were above the age of 6 in 2001. So
many were trapped and there was no escape.
Many took what they saw as their only option: chose when to die.
Life
There are many 25th floors in life. Choices we make trap us. Decisions of others hem us in.
Financial resources limit us. What are we to do when life puts us in a prison (any place from which escape seems impossible)? I believe scripture gives us the answer. Proverbs is quoted so often. A scripture with immense import. Wisdom for the ages. It is one of my go to Scriptures when life takes an unexpected turn.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Hindsight
A typical response to problems is to do the very opposite of what these verses encourage. We think we know the best way, we go to the Lord only after we have failed. We do not wait on God, His timing, or His insight.
Prudence
We were forced to “hang tight” and be patient with no real way out, . (At least we were not in the elevators when they went down! Looking at the positive.) First priority, give thanks. Second, pray for wisdom. Then, by all means, WAIT! Wait as long as is required. Do not get ahead of God’s plan and this includes His timing.
Lesson: A way down, around, through, over, or under the problem will present itself. God is faithful! I must be alert to the direction.
God Made/Makes a Way
Two hours later, B had had a nap, I had watched a movie, and all the anxious and irritable guests of the hotel were already dispatched downstairs and our journey to the lobby was quite pleasant. Not all stranded situations require desperate measures. Some only require a bit of tolerance and the P word–patience.
We do not know what we avoided by the delay. So, we must be leave that to the omnipotent, sovereign God. Arrival at home was simply later than expected but it was a safe and pleasant journey. Being stranded on the 25th floor turned out to be a minor inconvenience.
Lord, make me ever mindful of Your loving hand in every moment of my life. May I see interruptions as encounters of grace.
God Will Make A Way, by Dan Moen
