The Flying-Ant Inn

     We had been planning a one night get away for several weeks.  Because of our children and their schedules, my husband and I haven't gotten away for almost a year--so this was it!  We were off to Chapel Hill to stay for a night at the Carolina Inn--one of our favorite places.  For those of you unfamiliar with Chapel Hill, the Carolina Inn is a beautiful, historic hotel located right next to the campus of UNC.  Great location for walking or running and near one of our favorite restaurants for a dinner of... well, who cares as long as I get their Mount Airy Chocolate Soufflé Cake for dessert.  We would leave for Chapel Hill late in the afternoon,  go to a movie, eat, read, relax... and no laundry, no phone calls, no cleaning up.  Joy.  

     There was just one catch: we had to use this Groupon I had purchased for a night at the Carolina Inn.  Boy, I thought I was one smart cookie--I had seen it several months ago online and snapped it up, knowing my husband would be thrilled we had gotten an incredibly great deal with the Groupon.  Nothing like saving money and getting to go to a place you love in the bargain.

     So, this was the perfect week.  Several of our children were out of town and our 17 year old could babysit our youngest.  Not to mention the Groupon expired at the end of the week--it was now or never.  We had it all planned out--even discussing what movie and what time we could leave.  I handed my husband the Groupon receipt, and he called the number to make our reservation.  

     But as I played a marathon Monopoly game with our youngest son, here's what I heard:  after my husband politely stated that he was calling to make a reservation, I hear a few moments of silence.  The silence is followed by "Uh, excuse me, mam, could you please tell where you are located?"  Then a few moments later, "Okay, great.  Thank you so much."  

     Turns out, brain-surgeon-Yours-truly had not purchased a Groupon for the Carolina Inn, but for some impostor wannabe inn located only a "few miles" from the campus.  hmm.  It sure looked like a picture of the Carolina Inn on the tiny Groupon picture... but then, I didn't look at it that closely.  Nor did I look at the name closely either.  Had I done so, I would have immediately realized this was a slightly similar but still clearly different name. (This has long been a weakness of mine--sort of the "close enough" mentality--which can get you into a lot of trouble, especially with directions.)  My husband said his first giveaway was when the woman answering the phone said something like "Yeah?  Hello?  Hep you?"  

      It went downhill from there.  We looked up some reviews of the place and suffice it to say, they had me at the numerous complaints about the "strange flying-ant-like insects" that swarmed out of the bathrooms.  One hilarious review described a man's attempts to kills the hordes of flying-ants only to have them regroup and return in even greater numbers... until he finally surrendered and checked out of the hotel.  People complained of air conditioning that didn't work (a lot of those, actually), TV's that didn't work, and bathroom plumbing that didn't work. Yuck.

     Suffice it to say, we punted on the fabulous Groupon trip to Chapel Hill.  We figured life is too short to spend a night battling flying-ants in a sweltering room with bad plumbing.  As my son and I played Monopoly, we all howled at my mistake. No wonder I got such a fabulous deal.  Geez.  I mean, you either get mad or sad... or you laugh at life's little serendipities (or the fact that I am a total space cadet). We did still go to dinner, sat outside on a spectacular evening, had a wonderful time--complete with Mount Airy Chocolate Soufflé Cake--and got home in time to put my youngest child to bed.  And we had a mighty good laugh.  No movie or night away, but all in all, a pretty great evening, I must say.  

     Sometimes life doesn't turn out quite the way you planned it, does it?  You think you're getting the Carolina Inn.. and instead it's the Flying-Ant Inn.  You think your loved ones will be healthy and happy... and instead it's some disease or sorrow or setback.  You think the new job or new relationship will really bring satisfaction and success... and instead it's another dead-end or disappointment.  You think you're going to the college of your dreams or the vacation of your dreams or the... you fill in the blank... and it's your second choice or last choice or worst possible choice.  

     Those are the moments of decision: when we must decide whether we will trust our feelings or our Father.  Whether we will listen to our self-talk or our Savior and His Word.  Whether we will trust in Him--in His love, His plans, His sovereignty--or trust only in what we want, we see, we dream. 

     How many times have I arrogantly assumed that my plans were the best and that God's plans threatened to thwart my happiness, or that of my loved ones, only to later discover that His plans were far beyond anything I could have dreamed or imagined.  Good old Ephesians 3:20-21 says it best: "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think-according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory... forever and ever."  Or Joseph, telling his brothers, that though they sold him into slavery, and he was imprisoned for years for a crime he didn't commit: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Gen. 50:20) Think of all the countless lives saved by God's placement of Joseph in a pit then a prison and eventually a palace. 

     Sometimes only heaven may reveal how and why God's mysterious ways proved better than our hopes and dreams.  But until then, I choose to trust Him.  When life sends us disappointments or unmet expectations or downright sorrows, might we choose to trust the Father even when we cannot see or understand or feel our way clear.  If He's allowed it, it must be for our ultimate good and His glory, and He's promised to use it to shape us and mold us into the people He's called us to be. 

      I don't always understand... but I trust.  Because He has always always always proven trustworthy and faithful and good.

     And occasionally He knows we might need a good long laugh more than a night at an Inn.  

     And He would be right. 

     To our sovereign, loving God, be all the glory.