As you are probably aware, I recently had the opportunity go on vacation in Cancun, Mexico. I was so excited as I prepared to depart. Since I had a 6:15 am flight scheduled on April 18, I booked a “Park, Sleep, Fly” hotel in Windsor Locks so I would be near the airport for the early morning flight and have a place to leave my car for the week.

All went according to plan; I arrived at my hotel, registered, parked my car, and began to unwind. First, I went out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant. After a lovely meal, I returned to my hotel to relax and go to bed early since I had to be up at 3 am to get to Bradley International Airport to check in for my flight. At about 7:45 pm, I made one final check of email before turning off the lights. There was an email from JetBlue. The Subject line read: “Important Flight Information: CANCELLED.” Gulp. I read further: “We apologize for this disruption to your travel plans. We’re currently looking at other flight options for you and will send you an update shortly.” At 8:02 pm, I received another “Important message about your upcoming JetBlue flight” which informed me I had been booked on the same flight a day later. I was able to book my hotel room for an additional day and settled in to wait.

On Tuesday, I discovered that there’s not a lot to do in Windsor Locks, so I mostly stuck to my room and found myself fuming that my vacation had been disrupted. Breakfast was provided courtesy of the hotel, so later that afternoon I went out to dinner prior to going to bed early for my 3:00 am wake-up time. As I sat enjoying yet another nice meal, I suddenly had an epiphany: I was acting like a petulant child. I was upset that my vacation had been disrupted by a day. I was moaning and groaning because I had to stay another night in a nice hotel, have another meal at a restaurant with an extensive menu and sleep once again in a nice, comfy bed before flying away on an exotic vacation.

Shame on me. I realized what an awfully privileged attitude I had. I was sobered by the thought that there are millions of people in the world with no place to sleep, no food to eat, and no clean water to drink. There are millions of refugees sheltering in bombed out buildings and refugee camps longing for the safety, security and comfort of a home that won’t be bombed, flooded, or shaken by an earthquake.

I finished my meal while silently thanking God for all the blessings in my life; a home, plenty of food, the opportunity to work at a calling that I love, and the leisure and finances to travel. From that point on, I had a new perspective on my situation; one of immense gratitude for all the blessings in my life.

I made it to Cancun the next day, had a wonderful vacation and made sure to give plenty of gratuities to all the people who made my stay in Mexico wonderful. Perspective is truly a beautiful thing!

In Christ,

Pastor Sharon