The Light Approaches

As I sat on the patio of The James Place Inn Bed and Breakfast, I closed my eyes and wondered how this trip turned out to be so different than I expected. After a long spell of writer’s block, I came ready to clear the cobwebs and put pen to paper--or so I thought. What I experienced was that and so much more.

Having had the luxury of being the only guest at the inn, my unseen tears provided release from months of mandated and self-quarantine driven by the COV-19 pandemic. Because of the measures that the innkeepers had in place, I was safe there. I took the time to look at the past few months and how they affected me physically, mentally, emotionally and most of all, spiritually.

Five months of non-stop caffeine, sugar and sodium created havoc in my body. Binge watching TV closed my mind to any healthy mental stimulation and denied my body of much needed exercise. Self-pity wandered in and left me numb until I finally realized how exhausted I was. By the second day my body just shut down.

Being away from the toxic environment I left behind showed me the problem was not the pandemic but the direction in which I was headed. Instead of looking upward toward the light, I was looking inward to a person who forgot where her help comes from.

Many times, the Lord uses other people in our lives to accomplish His purpose. It was no coincidence that I was the only guest. Innkeepers Bill and Mary Ann provided a beacon of light out of the fog I was lost in.

Matthew 11:28 reminds us to “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest”. (NIV)

I found that rest at the James Place Inn.