It was not the place I expected to find a prayer. I didn’t even notice it when I came into the place, a hotel room on the third floor after a long day of traveling with a delayed flight and bad food and a restaurant downstairs that was going to close in 15 minutes.
I dropped my bags and laptop and took the elevator back down for one of the worst meals I’ve ever eaten.
I guess you could say I was grouchy by the time I returned to the room. I plugged in the laptop, took out the cell phone, checked for messages, called my wife then brushed my teeth, ready for bed. At least the bed was comfortable.
I was about to pick up a paperback thriller, hoping the pages would distract me when I noticed the card on the bedside table. We hope that God will grant you peace and rest while you are under our roof, it said. May the business that brought you our way prosper. May every call you make and every message you receive add to your joy. When you leave, may your journey be safe.
I thought about the words for a long time, especially the line that said, We are all travelers. From birth till death, we travel from eternity to eternity. Here I was, a thousand miles from home, disgruntled about the trip, but reminded that my life’s journey was full of such byways. It was up to me to make them all count.
I said a prayer of my own and turned out the light. I had a very good night’s sleep.
Rick Hamlin is the executive editor at GUIDEPOSTS.
