Several years ago, IronMan and I took my grandparents on a cross-country road trip to visit my parents who were living in Colorado at the time. On the way home from Colorado to Indiana, we planned a different route home so we could stop for quick visits to Mt. Rushmore, the famous Wall Drug 😉, and the Badlands. If you can believe it, the internet wasn't a thing at the time, so there was no quick or easy way to get a hotel reservation. We weren't certain where we would be stopping, anyway, because we wanted to get as far as we could so the final travel day home was as short as possible. While we were experiencing a blissful vacation for our first time ever visiting beautiful Colorado, we apparently didn't stay connected to the news on TV or in the papers. Had we, we would have avoided South Dakota and gone home via the usual Nebraska-Iowa-Illinois trek, but... we... did... not. Our first major clue was when we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. There were no parking spaces to be had. Occupying the parking spaces? Motorcycles. Slightly perplexed after seeing the presidents, we headed towards Wall Drug. I can still see some of the charming little towns along the way, and all of the motorcycles. Motorcycle after motorcycle, on the roads, at restaurants, gas stations, and shops. There were multiple motorcycles crammed in single parking spots leaving no parking spaces for cars for miles and miles and miles. Motorcycles here, motorcyles there, motorcycles
E V E R Y W H E R E. I was in my early 20's at the time and the event, Sturgis Bike Week, meant nothing to me the day prior, but on this day, I knew I would never forget it for the rest of my life. I'll bet you know where this is heading. We began to get a little bit concerned at the time, too. After the stunning sunset drive through the Badlands, we had been traveling for several hours. IronMan, who did all of the driving, was getting tired, my grandparents were getting tired, and it was time for us to stop for the night. Remember, this was before internet aaaand also before cell phones! Almost all hotels used "no vacancy" lights on their signs back in the day. We stopped at every single hotel where the "no" part of "no vacancy" wasn't lit, and we stopped at every single hotel that didn't have a sign. You wouldn't believe how many places had broken signs or hotel attendants forgot to light the "no" in "no vacancy." There were no rooms available for miles and miles, city after city, hour after hour, prayer after prayer. We discussed pulling over at a rest area to sleep, but decided to try to keep going. Stop after stop. No vacancy. Weary, exhausted, and stressed, we tried one more place. We spotted a motel that was hiding behind another bigger hotel that was closer to the road. Miraculously, there was one room left. The attendant remarked that we'd found the last room available in the entire city, but I am convinced it was the last room left in three states. We found a lone parking space between the motorcycles, left everything in the car and the four of us dragged our exhausted bodies into the room and collapsed into the two double beds.
As we think about PEACE during this Advent week before Christmas, I can assure you, once we knew the battle was on to find a place to sleep, there was nothing but stress, not peace. The unknown takes a toll, and discouragement adds to the weary exhaustion. Joseph and Mary were on the journey of ALL OF OUR LIFETIMES. I'm sure they were as prepped as they possibly could be for their trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but lodging was not something they could secure ahead of time, either. I suspect it's possible, through personal experience, that Mary knew somewhere mid-journey that the birth of Jesus would be sooner than later. It's impossible to know if she felt anxiety or stress, but I have a hunch she did. She was a human being, after all! I've really been thinking about this over the past few days. When you are prepared ahead of time, you can relax a little and you have confidence in the fact that you've SECURED the basics. This is great if you are in a circumstance that you can control, but how much control do we really and truly have even when we think we do? I think control is a bit of an illusion at times. As Joseph and Mary plodded along, did Mary wonder where they would stay or she would give birth? When they arrived, did some panic set in as Joseph went from door to door to find a space for his mother-to-be bride? "No vacancy" didn't blink on neon signs but it had to flash across their hearts. They were as prepared as they could have been in their circumstances, but they had no control that all of the inns were full. As questions, worry, and stress attempted to creep in, Joseph and Mary TRUSTED. It wasn't their preparation that gave them peace, it was their TRUST IN GOD that everything was covered even if it didn't seem like it was. Everything leading up to this point had to feel almost surreal, but they were also in miracle territory. And lo and behold, likely concerned and about to give up, faithful Joseph knocked on one last door (possibly hidden behind a bigger inn that was closer to the dusty road 😉) and something unexpected was offered, a stable. Joseph and Mary slipped right in between the motorcycles... err... I mean sheep, and ended up in the exact place that GOD HIMSELF HAD PREPARED ahead of time for them. Salvation for the whole world arrived in the most unlikely place as the tiny king was born that night... and those touched by His love will never, ever forget.
Always grace,
Shanda
