🙌It’s the Friday Call to Worship!🙌

My youngest sons and I are traveling through America. The boys have loved meeting family and learning their heritage. My 7-year old son has complex special needs, and the travel has been overwhelmingly difficult for him. We have canceled flights, changed plans, and seen less people than we’d like to accommodate.

Last week, we took a long flight from Houston to Los Angeles to submit South African visa applications. The airport, flight, LA traffic, hotel stay, and waiting in a big office was more than my son could handle. My mom was with us, and we’d planned on staying with her from that point. But her home was three hours away. My son just couldn’t.

We sat on the floor of a train station in LA, completely exasperated. My 4-year old was crying. His brother was trying to regulate but was on the verge of losing his grip completely. He’d been up, struggling profoundly, since 3am. We were all depleted.

I prayed a one-breath prayer, asking for the kind of wisdom and peace I couldn’t access on my own. (James 1:5) In the next breath, I made a quick decision. I told my mom and her husband to head home without us. I called the nearest hotel, which happened to be an expensive downtown Doubletree, and told my boys we were having a “Hotel Party”.

My boys took off their shoes and started wrestling on the soft lobby carpet before we even got a room key. For one nonsensical night, we removed pressure, transitions, travel, and all the rules. They jumped on the bed, fell asleep watching TV, and lived their best hotel lives.

The joy of the Lord filled the Doubletree that night. It wasn’t the fluffy white beds or overpriced bottles of milk. It was taking my weary hands off the reigns and trusting God to take care of me and my kids. The Lord makes things good wherever He is, even when we can only afford one breath to invite Him there. (Romans 8:26-28}

Today’s song wasn’t what I had in mind, but its message gripped me. Listen to, “The Author” by Brandon Lake featuring Nick Jonas.