BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

               BEYOND EXPECTATIONS

     While gazing at the beautiful skyline of Houston in the distance, my husband Steve and I felt relaxed, rested and serene. How we got to the setting is a thrilling story, one you must hear.

     The previous day on the airplane flight to Houston I was musing with God, reiterating to Him how much I was anticipating the next brilliant composition He had arranged for us to enjoy, possibly on this trip. The words to a song came to mind, "His mercies are fresh every morning." I began to think how his blessings are also new every morning, his promises are firm every morning and on and on.

     We have experienced many magnificent miracles in our lives and we are sometimes overwhelmed by the genius of His mind in originating the events and planning the orchestration of them so that we are struck with awe every time when we see them unfold.

     On the plane trip my husband was a little nervous about taking another blood test, a chest x-ray and another CT scan in order to chart the progress of the chemotherapy cocktails he has been receiving for the past six weeks. However, he was excited, too, to see Our Heavenly Father's hand prints displayed in such a way that we could not miss them. We are forever in awe of His acts of love shown toward His children. When this event unfolded it went beyond our wildest expectations.

     When making the reservations at the suite hotel in Houston, Steve had requested a particular configuration of the suite we had enjoyed on the last trip which was only six weeks in the recent past. That room was what I would call a studio suite because it was a huge room with two queen sized beds, a TV viewing seating arrangement with a love seat and coffee table. It had a full kitchen and a huge bathroom. The room had served us perfectly and we requested the same type of room for this particular stay.   The reservation clerk had told him that there were other requests for that type of room, also, but that she would do her best to accommodate us.

     After the flight we were picked up by the hotel shuttle service and transported to the suite hotel. At the check-in counter we were told by the young lady in charge that there were no more rooms like we had requested, but that we were getting two connecting suites for only ten dollars more than the price of the studio suite.

     Steve and I looked at each other and laughed in a kind of a Hallelujah laugh, sharing the realization that this was one of God's kisses to us, another one of his surprises that He sneaks in when we least expect them.

We expected something thrilling but we didn't anticipate anything of this magnitude.

     When we entered the connecting suites we were delighted, thrilled and in awe. Steve had his own bedroom and full bath, plus an apartment sized kitchen. I had my own bedroom and full bath. The connecting living room and kitchen area was perfect for us with the large couch and flat screen TV, office desk with Wi Fi connection and a fully equipped kitchen. A shuttered door led outside to an 8 by 16 covered balcony which contained a patio table and chairs and two lawn chair recliners.

     Steve confessed to me that having two bathrooms met the desires of his heart because he was concerned about my ability to get enough sleep in a studio suite because of his frequent trips to the bathroom after consuming the huge amounts of water he is instructed to drink after the tests. Sure enough, the desires of his heart were met without his asking for them. He had his own bedroom and bathroom. I was not disturbed at all.

     I remembered that on our previous stay at the hotel I was intrigued by the huge balcony that I could see from our studio suite, and I wondered what the rooms are like that led to the balcony. Here we were, finding out first hand what they are like, and we were enjoying their luxury for three nights.    
     Previously, Our Heavenly Father must have made note of my curiosity about the rooms and in His generosity arranged for us to nestle down during this trip in the connecting suites. The scriptures say that He knows what we need and desire before we even ask. This blessing was evidence of the truth of that particular scripture.

     We reveled in the evidence of the abundance of God's love and power.
During our stay we spent every morning drinking coffee and reading the morning paper seated at the table on the balcony, also gazing at the beautiful skyline of Houston.

     We both felt completely rested when the three days were over, even though we had to meet several appointments on those days. The layout of the connecting suites was perfectly suited to our needs.

     Yes, His mercies are new every morning toward His children. We are so fortunate to experience His mercies and His blessings, all part of our privileges that come from being His children.

     I know that the joy we had from being on the receiving end were reflections of the joy that Our Heavenly Father experienced in being able to provide such a wonderful surprise for two of his children. Just think, he did the same type of blessing for a multitudes of His other children at the same time.

     It just blows your mind; doesn't it!