My “FORCED” restful Birthday Week!
If you have seen any Love Without Reason social media in October, you would know that on October 21, there was a fundraiser for LWR called the SHINE fashion show! For an event of any magnitude to be successful, you need a mass of volunteers, planners, organizers, workers, idea-producers and etc!! This event was no exception…
The challenge was coordinating a mission trip to Zimbabwe, planning a surgery for Philip in India in July, and returning to school and all extracurricular activities while preparing for an October event. By the time October 21 midnight arrived, I was exhausted!! But then I was also frightened. I was the last person to handle both Santhosh and my phones at the event. And I believed I had packed them in a box, and sent it with one of our friends to their home. Unfortunately, the phones were nowhere to be found!
Sunday and Monday were a little frantic in trying to find our phones. And at the same time, there was peace. No calls to answer. No emails to respond to. No complaints to acknowledge (at the moment). Plus Santhosh’s reassurance to me that the phones would be found at the ChooChoo itself. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, peace.
The amazing staff at the venue for SHINE, a historic hotel called the Chattanooga ChooChoo, found the bag that had our phones in it, and then began the calls. Monday evening we also received entrance in the RUACH 2017 conference at Redemption to the Nations Church. One of our close friends from NYC covered our entry tickets to the conference and demanded that we attend the events Monday to Wednesday evening. Speakers came from around the country, just to pour into the attendants. The worship, music, prayers and Word was like a cool drink of water after a marathon in the hot sun!
Friday we were finally able to take advantage of the “Married and Still Loving it” prize package that we won in February 2016. The prize was a weekend getaway to the Whitestone Country Inn in Kingston, Tennessee! As we drove the scenic highway and cut through the colorful mountains, it truly seemed like the Lord was wrapping His arms around us. “Come apart, and rest for awhile,” He once said to His disciples.
Well, we did just that. We drove through the retreat area, walked, prayed, shared and enjoyed our time together. It has been quite awhile since we took time for ourselves, without a coordinating mission trip, or event related to the ministry. God knew we needed to be at a place that was known as a “sanctuary for the soul.” It was as if the chapped skin of our souls received balm there at the Whitestone Inn. The service, the staff, the smiles all brought rest to our wearied bodies.
As I look back on that week, I can’t help but think how the Lord orchestrated this time. People on my planning team told me that God Himself hid our phones from our eyes for those 2 days. God Himself sent us to a conference for refreshing. God Himself arranged a weekend getaway to renew ourselves for the journey ahead.
Nothing is too small for God. Even before we think our thoughts, Psalms 139 says He knows my thoughts. My physical needs are on His radar. Though it seems so insignificant a request, for my God, he arranges everything beautifully in His perfect time.
And now, ONWARD for the journey ahead! 🙂
Susan
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