I was so lucky to find that place! Granted, looking back, the amenities were not that great. OK, they were terrible. But…I had arrived in the middle of a storm in the middle of the night.
Seriously, that storm was lifethreatening! It made travel impossible. So, there I was, abandoned in the middle of it and I knew there just wouldn’t be any place to take me in.
I was soaked to the skin, cold, in serious need of a shower and scared out of my wits. Then, right there, this place opened itself up to me. I couldn’t have been more relieved and grateful to have found shelter.
But the amenities! A motel should offer easy access from a traveler’s route – that’s a check. It should offer a place to rest and bathroom usage – check and check. Anything else? Not necessarily. The room I was in had no view to the outdoors and as I didn’t trust what the conditions outside were like, I stayed in – for three nights. There was food, luckily, if you could call it that. By the time it reached me it was lukewarm and mushy.
In all that time I didn’t manage to get a shower. The running water came on and off unpredictably and definitely was of questionable quality. At least The place was warm (if constantly damp). Oh, and that reminds me – it had a smell (a stench) – like sour fish and stale air. I got nose blind to it after a while but at first, I just wanted to gag. Yet, like I said I was so lucky to be there at all.
You see, I shouldn’t have been out in that storm to begin with. I left on my little ‘gift-tomyself’ vacation without telling anyone my plans and without having time off from work. The boss had been on my case about taking an assignment that I really didn’t want to do. OK, I was refusing to do it, and the little trip was my way of showing him that.
I tend to make bad choices. Never seem to learn.
Well, there was no TV and no WIFI. There wasn’t even a Gideon’s Bible. I had a lot of time to think. First, I was so relieved, to not be dead. Then, I grumbled over the terrible amenities and finally, finally I realized that I’d brought it all on myself.
That assignment the boss wanted me to do didn’t seem so bad anymore. If only I could get back to it, but I didn’t know – being away these three days without the justified time off? How would the boss react to me now?
Turns out my boss is a really understanding dude. He not only let me keep my position with him but provided everything I needed in order to do the assignment.
Now he’ll see! He’ll see just how wrong he is about giving those miserable Ninevites a second chance. Maybe my next ‘motel’ experience will be under the shade of a spreading tree in the nice warm sunshine!