We arrived in New York for our daughter’s much anticipated twelve-year-old trip with mom and dad, exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep in a gorgeous hotel. We had big plans to explore the city, but the first thing our daughter wanted to do in the morning was to swim in the rooftop pool. We sauntered up with swimsuits and towels on right after breakfast.
Upon finding lounge chairs, my husband’s phone rang. and his eyes got big.
“This is the manager. I’m so sorry to say this, but we believe your room has bed bugs. We are going to ask you to come to a new, upgraded room immediately. Take only what you have on, and you will follow us to a new room. All your clothes and bags from your old room will go through a special cleaning process, then sent back to your room tomorrow. We are so sorry for the inconvenience!”
My husband must have noticed my face. All my expectations came crashing down. We had waited so long for this trip, and now it was ruined. I teared up. We have no shoes, no clothes; we can’t go out in the chilly night air like this! And gross — bed bugs?! How did this happen!
“We are sending the concierge out to shop for new clothes for tomorrow and tennis shoes. And pajamas. And anything else you need.” So we sat around in our half wet suits and waited. I tried to have a good attitude, but it didn’t work. I was just so disappointed. Finally, the clothes arrived, and we were able to go out to dinner. I prayed a pitiful prayer that God would somehow redeem this trip.
But the following day, I woke up, and one of my eyes was matted shut. You’ve got to be kidding me. This is a comedy of errors! It was swollen and itchy, and I had to call an eye doctor to get a prescription in a city I didn’t know. But we had new outfits and shoes and decided to take to the streets. Nothing is going to stop us from having the trip of our lives — not even my jellyfish-looking eyeball! So we did all the fun things one does in New York City, clocking in 20,000 steps!
Throughout the day, I kept asking my husband if his hips were hurting because he usually complains or walks with a limp with that much walking. “I can’t believe this, but I feel fine! I think it’s these shoes. I would have never bought them, but they’re actually incredible. My hip isn’t hurting at all.”
We both gasped and smiled. For years we’ve known he’s been inching towards surgery but have been putting it off. We’ve tried everything and never thought to switch his shoes. He hasn’t taken those tennis shoes off since, and his hip pain has dramatically decreased!
Our disastrous-but-redeemed trip reminds me of this year — these past couple of years — when expectations of how everything should have gone came crumbling down. Even though we’re past Christmas, I can’t help but think about Mary and how jarring it must have felt when the angel appeared to her suddenly.
And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
Luke 1:28-29 (ESV)
I can just hear Mary saying, “Um, what kind of greeting is this?!” But God has a different way, a strange way, of showing up. He offers His provisions and care in such a surprising manner, we could easily miss the blessing it might contain.
We look back now on that trip and see God’s surprising provision. He met needs we weren’t even looking to have met. We had big plans, but He had an even bigger plan to heal my husband’s hip — with an incident of bed bugs. (Yes, it’s funny!)
As we enter into this season of reflection and look forward to the future, we can probably conjure up all the ways we want our lives to go differently. But our vision might be clouded, perhaps matted shut with unmet expectations and bitterness. We might not be able to see the ways God has actually been providing for us all along. But this is what I’ve found to the be antidote to see clearly again: We must believe in His goodness towards us. When we look back and find the ways He’s been faithful to us, it helps us look forward to the future feeling less fearful and more hopeful.
I wonder how He will show up for us this next year as we look around and say, Where is God in this surprising turn in my life? Ah, our Emmanuel. God is with us — in the past, right now, and in the future. And His presence is our promise and our hope.
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I’m grinning as I read this Jami. We’re sitting outside a MD office waiting for the staff to arrive. They’re running behind & I’m wondering what they’ve faced this am to make them late. God has it all in hand no matter what the click says! Want my test over but I have to wait. God is in the delay & it’s OK because of Him!
Right? it changes my whole attitude when I think on how he’s trying to be good to me!
Ah YES yes yes. God is with us. My family is safe, healthy, loving, caring and children of God. God is great every moment.
Thanks and happy new year!
Jami we had back in August September October or this year flour and cereal mits in our kitchen. How did we get them I wondered. They were crawling all over our kitchen. They were in the cupboards work top and drawers as well. They were so tiny. We had to shine a light on what we thought was them and not a piece of dirt. To see them moving with the light from the tourch on them we knew it was them not dirt. Across the inside of the cupboards and work tops in our kitchen. There were so many. I said how did I get these we mites. I then had to throw food out. Take all our plates knives etc and our kitchen stuff and wash it. Put into other rooms in our house. Until we got rid of them. That was some job. We had to only cook what we eat for that day. Because of crumbs. We had to eat in our living room. It was horrible not nice. We got stuff to spray. That thought it was work. But it did not. The only thing that help was white vinegar and bleech. Our Kitchen smelt. So bleechy it if we didn’t keep the kitchen door closed. It would waft into the hallway and give you a headache. It was offal. I wanted to cry. How did we get the creal and flour mites. Then one day I opened a packet of cereal from our local Tesco store. That I bought back in August that was still in date until December this year. It was in the inside crawing with the mites. What looked like hundreds of them. So I knew right away that we got them from there.
We even had to throw in date food out. It was sad. As I said there are people starving we throwing food out because of the mites. I said to my husband. He agreed with me. When we had the kitchen cleared out. We look into the cupboards and drawers and work tops etc. We with he tourch. Could see them crawling about. So we had to keep spraying to kill them. When had the places sprayed we through that it’s there gone. But no they multiplied. Then next time we go look in our kitchen cupboards drawers etc. We say we’re are they coming from. We cleaned all the cupboards drawers etc washed all our kitchen stuff. But I was so annoyed. I got my Husband to phone the pest control. To see if they know what to do to get rid of them once and for all. Or how to get rid of them. It was our nightmare. They said we could come spray stuff. All over your kitchen in cupboards and drawers as well. But it might not work. The best thing is what you are doing at the moment. With white vinegar and bleech. Spraying them as you see them. They will eventually die and might never come back. We thought at times was pest control right in what they told us to do. As we seem not to getting rid of them completely. But at times we not have a many. Then the next day we find more. We get more annoyed. It took from August to October to get rid of them. With spraying them with the vingear and bleech. Now we don’t have them. We had to buy containers to put all our rice cereal in plus bread. So as when completely all gone. We have everything well seeled up. So no chance of them coming back I hope so does my Husband. I wanted to report Tesco supermarket. That I got them in from the cereal. Bring it in to show them. Then I knew they be all over the car. I said no we just keep cleaning and spraying them. Until get rid of them. You know what I learnt from that time. With the cereal and flour mites. Was God saying to me. Look you are cleaning and spraying your work top drawers and cupboards to try get rid of them. Look at them as sin in your life. Look at all the dirt of the sin you had in your life before you got saved and since are saved. Because of mistakes you make that you don’t know you are doing and saying wrong until I showed you. You asked me help you stop. Live the way you are living and live right for me. The way it say in my word the Bible. I had to clean you out many times show you the dirt in your life. Help you clean it out. Like you and your mites. Until you were able to stop doing the things that are not right in my eyes. Live right for me the Lord said to me. The way that pleases me. It took time the Lord said. For you get were you are today. Yes you will never be perfect. You will still now and then sin. But you can when you realise you have done wrong. Come to me and ask me to help you not do it again and I will forgive you. As like the mites. The pest control said hopefully they will never come back. But they could. If you have all things seeled up in containers. They shouldn’t come back. So that taught what the mites taught me about my life with God. Made me see God is always cleaning me out. Showing me how to live right for him and not sin. If I do I can go to him in prayer ask him to help me not do it again. Or show me if I am doing something not pleasing to him. Turn with his help stop me doing it. I am sorry on your Holiday you had bed bugs in the room you were supposed to be staying in. In the Hotel you were in. But you didn’t let it spoil your trip. I didn’t let the mites take over my life. Learnt what God wanted me to learn from having them. Love today reading. In my prayers. Love Dawn Ferguson-Little Enniskillen. Co.Fermanagh N.Ireland xx
AGH! this sounds so hard and miserable. thank you for sharing. It’s awesome to see how you saw God in all of that!
Thank you so much for this post. I so needed to hear this. Blessings <3
Thanks for reading!
Thank you again precious friends!! This to met me where I am !! Praising God how he works in mysterious ways!!!
He is hilarious and mysterious! LOL
God makes good on His promise to use ALL things for the good of those who love Him — even bed bugs. Wow, friend. I’m so encouraged by your story. Thanks for pointing us to hope in the new year! Lord, give us eyes to see your goodness!
YES LORD!
I love that last sentence! “Ah, our Emmanuel. God is with us — in the past, right now, and in the future. And His presence is our promise and our hope.”. So good.
It’s something I tend to forget. I love reminding myself!
Thank you! I needed this reminder.
I needed it too!
Gosh this resonates with me d as o much. Not the bed bug part lol (please Lord don’t test me with this -nervous laugh) but past four years have been overwhelming. Beginning with discovery of dementia in my parents, loss of their life savings, my Mom breaking her hip and having to move them into an assisted living. Then overseeing the sale of my childhood home. My Dad passing in 2020 – isolation just literally broke his heart. The Lord was there through every murky, overwhelming, and sometimes angry step. He provided people to help us navigate, money to come in for expenses, healing for health and heartache. The family that bought my parents home loved it because my father’s beloved basement had his favorite Bible verses and positive quotes every where. This family saw it as a sign that his was where they would live and continue their ministry. Just like my parents did and their parents before them. It was so profound that even our realtor cried when he told us about the offer. When I get discouraged and angry with the world I remember all the things God has turned from a negative situation to a beautiful one. He gives you so very much more that you can even think to ask for or that you know you need.
Rebekah,
I can so relate to your story. Both my parents had dementia. Mom was bedridden for two years before God graciously took her home. In that time dad would read the Bible daily. He talked with my pastor & got baptized-83. Then came the trials of my dad’s dementia/psych. I had to put him in gero psych unit at hospital twice. Both times he was living in an assisted living. Praying you during these trying times. Caring for aging parents isn’t easy. Doing so during a pandemic is harder. You can’t always be there with them. You have to trust God to work everything out for their good. May 2022 be a better year for your family.
((((((((((Hugs))))))))))
Blessings 🙂
Sweet friend, that is so hard. UGH. But how sweet and tender is God to meet you in that space. Love to you!
Jami,
Jesus states in Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God tends to show up & bless us when we least expect it. For me that looks like a good part-time job that has grown. Two weeks after being let go from a part-time job God gave me a much better one in a hospital as a clerical. It started out as 2 days one week then 3 days. Through a series of events I worked full-time for 6-8 weeks beginning middle of September. Since then my unit shut down & I was moved to a Covid unit. Still allowing me to work 4-5 days a week. I was also able to get extra pay on non scheduled days. Since I am float (work any unit) I have worked other units in that time also. Through some other events I had an RN manager come up to me & talk to me about going part-time benefitted. I never envisioned my original job would go from 2-3 days a week to 4-5 & get good raises also. God does bless us when we least expect it. If we don’t pay attention we could easily miss the blessing that comes from trials.
Blessings 🙂
I love this so much!