This weekend I had the privilege of staying in a hotel in downtown Miami.
I was on the 8th floor (my favorite number because of its symbolism of eternity).
After a Sunday morning run and watching an online church service, I began the departure procedure before my delayed checkout time of 12:00p.m. Apparently everyone else from the floors above me had the same idea.
I waited patiently (at first) in the 8th floor elevator lobby. The doors opened, and suprisingly, it was packed wall-to-wall with travelers and suitcases.
No worries.
I’ll take the next one.
There were 6 elevator shafts, so surely, the next one would be only a few seconds away.
A few minutes passed and the doors opened to another elevator. Similar scenario, only this time with crying babies and strollers.
Still no room.
My impatience began to mount. My shoulder carrying my overnight bag and briefcase with my hefty laptop began to feel the weight of my baggage. (There’s a strong metaphor here, sunshine.)
Frustrated, I pushed the already lit “down” elevator lobby button with fervor and angst. Note: this does not solve anything–the elevator was doing its job, however it’s not a “smart” elevator as it’s unaware of the capacity of its riders on any given stop.
Ok. Let’s try this again.
3rd times a charm, right?
And I love three–it’s a reminder of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Ahhhhaa! Yes!
I’ll pray while I wait for the next one.
Good plan, God; thanks for the reminder to pray.
Then it hit me.
Maybe there would be less people going up at this hour? Perhaps if I hit the “up” button, go to the next floor then I’d be one of the first riders on the next elevator down.
Brilliant.
Quickly, I depressed the “up” button all the while, the down button was still lit. Within seconds, the red “up” arrow elevator opened and VIOLA–I was a solo rider. I went up two more floors and picked up a family, then started the descent to the lobby picking up additional riders on nearly every floor. The funny thing was, even though I went up initially, I wasn’t too peeved, because I was at least moving! Movement meant progress–motion toward my ultimate goal.
I smirked and pondered on every floor and distilled some elevator wisdom:
- How often must we consider a new way of doing something, sometimes going the opposite direction of the way we wanted, hoped, or planned, in order to reach our ultimate destination?
- Often we experience delays and detours on our way to our final destination, but how amazing that God revealed to me creative problem solving and some valuable lessons, too.
- I had to go “up” (to God!) in order to come down (humility).
What about you, sunshine?
Have you had any recent detours or delays?
What lessons have you learned?
If you’re not sure, take some time to pray and ask God to reveal the lessons He’s hoped to reveal to you. |
