It’s our wedding anniversary…I better start planning something
Stephanie and I are celebrating 19 years of marriage this week. I can’t help but remember our 15th anniversary… I hope I have learned my lesson.
So a few years ago I was preparing for my 15th wedding anniversary. I knew I was getting into those anniversary years where the stakes go up as far as the expectations Stephanie would have…so I went to work planning a romantic getaway weekend. I planned to drive our entire family to Alabama, drop the kids off at my mother’s house, and then head to Nashville for an anniversary getaway weekend.
There was a 4 star hotel in Nashville that we had stayed in before and Stephanie had commented on how much fun it would be to go back to that hotel. It had indoor gardens, atriums, all kinds of shows throughout the hotel…you could even take a romantic boat ride through the hotel artriums. I looked for internet deals at the hotel and tried everyway I could to find the best deal for a room for a few nights and ended up frustrated that I couldn’t seem to get an affordable price.
So I started on a plan B. Hotwire.com
It’s a internet site that sells rooms at hotels based on star ratings and location without telling you the name or brand of hotel. I started finding some amazing deals on 2.5 star hotels that were near the 4 star hotel. You see I justified that we could stay there at ¼ the price and drive over to the 4 star hotel in the day and see the sights etc.
I just knew that Dave Ramsey would be so proud of ability to find ways to save money on the trip. I mean the 2.5 star hotel had free high-speed internet, it was an all suite hotel, continental breakfast…it had to be nice ….. I researched as much as I could to determine which hotel it might be…as they don’t tell you the exact hotel until after you have paid by credit card. When I finished the transaction on the internet and saw the name of the hotel, I started to have a sinking feeling that I might have made a bad choice. However, I continue to ensure Stephanie that we were in for a great weekend anniversary getaway.
The day arrived for us to leave the kids at my mother’s house and we headed for Nashville. As I approached the exit for the hotel that sinking feeling started coming over me again. The hotel that hotwire had offered such an amazing deal on was not at all what I had hoped for. I checked in hoping for the best….the lobby was nice enough. The whole time through check-in I was eyeing Stephanie because I knew she had expectations and an opinion about what was unfolding. It wasn’t looking good. We parked the car and located the room. The hotel was actually a motel and had each room door opening to the street. I went to open door…and it was already open…the lock was busted and the door had been cracked for quite some time. In the late June summer in Nashville the room was way over 80 degrees. As I entered the doorway, I scanned the room and immediately was overwhelmed by the original décor from the early 70s… with original carpet and fixtures… wow…the room didn’t look like it had been cleaned in a while… as we stepped inside the room our feet were sticking to the old and warn, shag carpet…and I took a look at Stephanie…and I knew there was only one thing left to do.
I pulled out my laptop, connected to that free wireless highspeed internet that the hotel bragged about on hotwire.com and I looked up the number for the 4 star hotel and called and found a way to get a room there….The hotel had not met either of our expectations….and I knew I was headed for a long weekend if I didn’t do something….
Expectations have a way of shaping our view of life and they have a profound impact on our future…no matter how hard we try, we’re wired up to form expectations about any and everything… Expectations in our relationships, in our jobs, about our life and even in our faith…. What are your expectations of God?
How do you view his role in your life… What do you expect from Him? I’ve seen people run the gamut from expecting that God is like a genie in a bottle or a good luck charm that they can ask and expect anything for Him….to people who believe God has provided salvation for them…but they don’t expect his involvement in their life on a daily basis… and they don’t expect Him to do much of anything in their life.
I can promise you that He wants to be deeply involved in your life and that He has a good plan for you. Give it some thought today…. and send me good ideas for my 19th wedding anniversary. You know I need the help.
