Travel Plans with Stops
This morning I received several opportunities in my inbox: beach houses, mountain chalets, and discount cruises offered attractive vacations. The drastic percentage cuts peaked my curiosity and I clicked on cruises. The number of days and ports of call gave options. Each had stops with unique charm.
We make stops in life, and they may be unique, but “charm” isn’t the description I’d use for all of them.
Charming, attractive, delightful, enchanting, dazzling? Yes, for some stops: a career start, wedding, dream vacation, new baby, an achievement, milestones, grandchildren…we find those attractive, delightful, enchanting, and even dazzling.
But life stops include disappointments, failures (from our point of view), illness, estrangement from friends or family, divorce, relocating, death, job termination…
This past week our group studied Michal, one of King David’s wives. If a woman, (considered as property in those days) ever made stops, it was Michal. She was given by her father, Saul, to David in marriage. After David escaped due to a death threat, Saul gives Michal to another man. Michal and her new husband set up housekeeping, but Michal, without a choice, is later called back to the palace to reunite with David. Scripture tells us she despised David after his display of worship. She ended her life childless and spiritually barren.
In her stops, Michal never called on God. Her life wouldn’t have been charming, but she would have found comfort. At each place, she could have stopped to meet God, and her inner self would have been different. Our stops are often beyond our control. The outward parts of our lives may not change, but we can seek to do what Michal didn’t—choose to seek the extraordinary treasure of meeting with God in difficult places. In seeing Him in our ports of call, we can find comfort and an attitude change, even if we stay in the same place longer than we had hoped.
What are your thoughts about the port you are seeing today? How have you found comfort?
*1 Samuel 14:49; 18:20-28; 19:11-17; 25:44; 2 Samuel 3:13, 14; 6:16-23; 21:8; are the references for Michal’s story.
The Conversation
This is a great reminder: Our stops are often beyond our control. The outward parts of our lives may not change, but we can seek to do what Michal didn’t—choose to seek the extraordinary treasure of meeting with God in difficult places.