WHERE DO YOU STAY?

“But the Lord was my stay.” Psalm 18: 18

It is starting to feel like a distant memory ... far too distant. A little over two weeks ago, while most people in my town of Landisville were really under still another massive winter storm, I was more than a thousand miles away in warm and sunny Melbourne, Florida.  Dianne and I were attending the Sent Conference, a networking and training event put on by the Commission on Church Planting of the Churches of God, General Conference.  In return for our time and participation, they housed us at the Crown Plaza-Melbourne Beach. We had a fourth floor room, with a balcony and a partial ocean view.  I breakfasted in the hotel's restaurant which stretched across the hotel's rear with a magnificent view of the ocean. Since I am an early riser, I enjoyed three spectacular sunrises over coffee, my eggs, and the morning USA Today.  The hotel provided us a cabana to break the wind and block the excess sun as we sat one afternoon on the beach.  A tidal current dropped millions of prime seas shells right in front of us that delighted Dianne and increased our suitcase weight.  

Because the winter storms in the north were paralyzing air travel, Delta was encouraging me stay an extra day, offering to rebook my ticket at no extra charge.  The hotel even offered me a discounted extra night.  Since I had an important breakfast meeting to host at home with representatives of the school district and area pastors, I had to reluctantly decline the offer.  (Reluctant may be too soft a word.)

Where do you stay?  In the journey that is life, where book yourself for rest and renewal and shelter?  Over the years, Dianne and I have become regular customers of Hampton Inns.  They are not particularly cheap--but they are comfortable, provide all the amenities we require for a pleasant rest. They have come to recognize me as a loyal customer and more than once have gone to extraordinary measures to make sure I am satisfied with my stay.  There have been times that I chosen (or had chosen for me) other accommodations that may have been convenient or cheap, but were not a place of rest and renewal.  And when the heat didn't work and the beds were too broken and the space too confining, they were an unexpected nightmare instead of a pleasant surprise.

David had a place to which he retreated for rest and renewal, for safety and sustenance.  That place was a person.  God was his stay.  He reminds us with this confession that the journey of life is challenging and depleting. Life can sidetrack us or strand us. A life that plans to be lived in connection with God is the only one that will sustain us. It is the only one that will allows us to safely arrive at our destination.

Where do you stay?

(C) 2011 by Stephen L Dunn