Looking for God in All the Right Places (I hope)

 

On retreat earlier this year

So far, the month of July has not been much of a “mini-Sabbatical.”

We drove down last Monday, and at first Keith and our dog Penny were here, joined after a day by our daughter Katherine. They were looking for a vacation, so we did a fair amount of walking in nature, window-shopping, and eating out. The weather was very fine, and we didn’t miss the 90s in the Piedmont at all.

On Thursday, Keith and Penny left, and Katherine stayed for a few days -- but left a day early because the temperature inside my little third-floor condo was really very hot. It followed a cycle of: cool in the morning, comfortable in the mid-morning, going to warm in the afternoon and really hot by about 5 p.m. The heat lasted until well after bedtime, only cooling off around 3 a.m. A high of 80 degrees outside resulted in a warmer temperature than that inside. The open windows never caught much of a breeze, and the fans didn’t cut it and were so loud we couldn’t hear one another talk.  

I purposefully rented an air-conditioned condo – part of my whole intent was to escape the July heat. The so-called AC in this unit is like the kind you find in motels. Located in the living room, it was incredibly feeble, hardly putting out any cool air, and the air certainly never reached the bedrooms.

So I had a conversation with the renting company. To my surprise, they moved me (well, I moved myself with Katherine’s help) to a 3-bedroom mansion in the upscale resort of Chetola. The rental company told me they didn’t know how long I would be there, so I should take everything with me. I stayed there Saturday afternoon and evening, all day Sunday, and Monday morning until I was informed the AC was fixed and I should move myself back to the original condo.

Hauling all my stuff up three flights of stairs was not fun although at least it wasn’t hot.  

The only restful, renewing day I have had so far was Sunday.

I intentionally planned for this week to be alone and quiet – to pray, study, write, and read. Here’s to finding God in unexpected places!