The Tender Mercies of the Lord
Ocean City, Maryland 2011
Last year, shortly before the end of June, I surprised my
only daughter, Emma, by inviting her to take a mother/daughter vacation to the
Ocean. She already went on yearly
vacations to the Ocean with my x-husband—her father. However, on those trips, she always
invited several friends to go hang out with while away with her dad—it
turns out to be a large group.
I wanted our vacation to be different: no friends, boyfriends, brothers, men, etc.--just
a girl’s getaway for the two of us. I
was positive she’d say no—but, surprisingly, she accepted. I was positive she’d be bored to tears—but,
surprisingly, she wasn’t. We actually
had a wonderful time together.
We stayed in a little run-down hotel right on the boardwalk.
The three days we were there, the
weather was picture-perfect. Not a cloud
in the sky, temperatures in the high 80’s (perfect beach weather). We spent our days lying out on a blanket or
chairs near the water. We sun bathed,
chatted with one-another about life and dreams and goals, we read books, and played
in the ocean’s surf. At lunch time, I’d
stroll up to the boardwalk and get us some delicious food for lunch that we’d
share sitting together on a blanket beneath our protective beach umbrella.
Our evenings we great too. We'd spend them having another
wonderful meal (usually crabs—yummo!!), or eating junk food along the boardwalk,
and, of course, shopping! When we were exhausted, we’d retire to our room, find
something we both enjoyed on the television, and drift off to a peaceful sleep.
It was a perfect vacation with my only daughter, and a wonderful
memory was made. On the ride home--
tanned bodies and five pounds (or so) heavier-- we decided that we should have
a getaway together-- just like this one-- every year.
Well things changed over the past year. My daughter now had a steady boyfriend, and
she spent every spare moment home from college with him. I had lost my full time job and my income was
cut in half. But, when April rolled
around, I decided to ask her to go again, and save every cent I could. She surprisingly said “yes” once more.
I called the same hotel (fingers crossed that they’d still
have a vacancy this late in the game) and upon making the reservation, I
requested the same exact room. When I
explained to the voice on the other end of the phone that this was a special
mother/daughter getaway and that we had had such a wonderful time the year
before, the voice promised they’d try as hard as they could to meet that accommodation.
I saved every dollar I could and grew more and more excited
as the time neared; we would be going the same week we had vacationed the year
before. However, the weather was strange
this spring. We had a lot of rain in
May, some days it was hot, but many days the temperatures dropped and were
almost fall-like. I worried that we
would not have the summer heat we needed to enjoy laying on the beach, playing
in the surf, and swimming in the pool.
Perhaps the nights would even be too cold to walk along the boardwalk—or
worse--raining. UGH!
I began to pray to my Father in Heaven. I explained to him how important the weather
was for our trip. I knew that rainy,
cold days would not make for a good beach vacation. Being stuck in our hotel room, looking out at
a grey, gloomy ocean and walking along the boardwalk huddled beneath umbrellas
would be depressing and disappointing at the very least. I also explained in my prayers, that even
though my daughter and I promised we’d do this together every year, this was her last year of college coming up; our lives could possibly change in
the near future. After all, my daughter
might not even live in this area after graduation—she had made so many new
friends where she went to school. She might
marry, have children, a new job with no vacation time, responsibilities that
limit her from going anywhere. My life
could change also, my health could change—who knew what the next twelve months
could bring--we had to make the most of this
vacation.
So, each day I once again knocked on the Lord’s door and
explained to him how important it was for us to have hot, summer weather and clear
blue, perfect skies above during our three days away.
As the time neared, the weather wasn’t looking too
good. The days seemed cold to me—at least
cold for this time of the year. It was
always cloudy and threatening to rain.
The day before we were to leave, the temperature was 52 degrees when I
got up that morning. 52 degrees! That’s
almost winter weather! I again prayed
and begged the Lord to let my daughter and I make yet another wonderful memory
of our time together—a memory that would last a lifetime.
The morning we were to leave finally arrived. My daughter was up at six o’clock and
announced that the sun was actually up.
As we packed the car, I still felt it was too chilly but knew that I had
prayed fervently, and if the Lord saw fit to give us this special blessing,
well, we would receive it.
It takes close to four hours to drive to the Ocean. As we got closer and closer, the few clouds in
the sky disappeared and the temperature started to rise with each passing
mile. By the time we were an hour away
from our destination, it was already in the 80’s and it wasn’t even lunch time
yet—things were looking better.
When we got to the hotel and I checked in, the woman behind
the counter informed me that they could not give us the room that we had
requested, but had to give us the one next to it. I didn’t complain; I just took the keys and
we headed down the hall. As we struggled
along with our suitcases, I tried to reassure my daughter-- telling her
that I was positive this room would be just as nice as the one we had the year
before. I was wrong. This room had been newly renovated—everything
in it was brand new, clean, and beautiful.
The air conditioning welcomed us with its cool breeze as we unlocked the
door and entered. We dropped our luggage
to the floor and fell onto the beds laughing at our good fortune. (I knew in my heart that good fortune had
nothing to do with it.)
That day, and the next, turned out to be picture
perfect. Not a cloud in the sky either
day, the weather was in the high 80’s with just enough breeze blowing to keep
us comfortable. We once more sat on the
beach, tanned, chatted, read books,ate, and played in the surf. At night, we again strolled along the boardwalk,
shopped, and had yummy fattening food.
My daughter loves to sleep-in in the mornings; However, I am
up early and ready to go. I joke,
saying: “I can sleep at home; I’m not wasting my vacation in bed!” So, we compromise. I let her sleep and I go out and walk along
the boardwalk. It’s a great time to
meditate and contemplate the day ahead and enjoy the beauty of the ocean as the
sun rises above it. About nine o’clock,
I return to the room and get her up for breakfast at one of our favorite
spots.
Our last night in the room, we kept hearing threatening
weather reports about heat advisories for the following day. Temperatures were to be above 100 degrees
(too hot can be just as bad as cold and rainy) and bad storms were being
predicted. (Storms at the Ocean—scary stuff!!)
When I woke that last morning and left for my stroll, I was
greeted by cool weather and cloudy skies.
I was grateful it wasn’t as hot as they were predicting, but, I must
admit, I was also disappointed that we would not have another lovely, sunny day
on the beach. Even though check-out was
eleven, we weren’t planning on going home till that evening. Stormy weather would force us to change our
plans and go home early.
I felt guilty for feeling disappointed. The Lord had come through for me and given us
two perfect, hot summer days to enjoy.
How dare I grumble over one cloudy one.
After breakfast, we returned to the room and packed all our
stuff. We sat on the beds and contemplated
whether or not to go to the beach one last time. After a few moments pause, we agreed--cloudy
or not, we were going!
By the time we packed the car with everything but what we
needed for the day and found our usual spot on the sand, the clouds had
departed and there was nothing but clear, blue skies as far as the eye could
see.
Though the threat of extreme heat was heard again and again
on the television set that morning, the day appeared no hotter than the two
days previous. There was a nice breeze
and we were both perfectly comfortable all lathered up with our sunscreen and
blue-striped umbrella. We read books,
chatted, played in the surf. At lunch time,
seated comfortably in the cool shade on our red, plaid Gingham blanket, we had
yummy subs from the local Italian shop next to the hotel. When we had had enough sun and sand, we
changed our clothes, and walked along the boardwalk to buy last minute souvenirs
for loved ones waiting at home.
About six o’clock that evening, we started on the road. We were shocked when we reached the halfway
point and decided to stop at a fast food joint for a drink; shocked because
when we stepped out of the car, we were immediately hit in the face with heat
so thick and hot that you could taste it as it tried to steal your breath
away. It was well over 100 degrees and
there was not a breeze blowing anywhere—not at all like the beautiful, breezy weather
we left back at the ocean.
As we got closer to home, thunder and lightning storms
teased and threatened the skies above, and about five miles from our house the
rain started coming down lightly. We
made it home that night and were safely inside before the heavy rain and storms
descended. My daughter and I laughed and
hugged and agreed that we’d do it all over again—“same time next year.”
I realize that many of you reading this might think we were
just lucky to have had such incredible weather.
But, I know in my heart it was a tender mercy from the Lord. He understood how important this trip was for
me and my daughter, how much closer it would bring us, and he was showing us
love and kindness. It reaffirmed the
fact that someone does hear and answer our individual prayers—no matter how
silly they may seem to others; and it reaffirmed the fact that someone does love
and care about our happiness.
I’m not a perfect person—oh no! Far from it!
I’ve made many mistakes along the way and don’t deserve these tender
mercies. And yet, the Lord still sees
fit to bless me and my family with them.
If he can bless a non-perfect person like me, then surely he can bless
you and your family also.
I’m so grateful for prayer.
As a mother, I don’t know how anyone—let alone a mother--can make it
through this life without it. Prayer has
helped me raise my children, get through college, make wiser choices, stay out
of danger, run from danger, and so much more.
I don’t know if my daughter and I will make it back to the
ocean next year—I hope so. But, one thing
is for sure: as time passes on, and I remember fondly our little vacation
together, I will always remember it was so much fun and so perfect due to the
tender mercies of the Lord.
Thanks so much for sharing!
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