Thanks for joining me for coffee hour and more Cabo highlights. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I am enjoying reliving them! I may keep you a bit longer today, so grab your coffee and get comfortable.
They say things come in threes, and there definitely is a third one that happened our first day, a heart-squeeze that made us all laugh in the days that followed. Let me share it with you and maybe you will find yourself laughing at the irony of the blessing.
For us, Cabo is a yearly thing because we have a timeshare there. Back in November, we invited Rodney and Cheryl to join us and even offered one of our weeks so they could have their own place if they wanted. Once flights had been booked and both our places confirmed, I began to pray that they would get a suite like ours – it’s a one-bedroom with a kitchen, living room and two bathrooms but the best thing is it’s right on the sand. I did add in my prayer to make their room as close to us as possible.
Well, as soon as Javier finished our check-in, he began to look for a suite for Rodney and Cheryl. He kept pushing buttons on the computer and shaking his head, then suddenly he smiled. “There is one like theirs in the next building” – it was only a couple hundred yards away. Rodney wanted to know where that was so Javier pulled out the map and showed him. Rodney asked if there was anything closer. Javier turned his focus back to the computer, his head shaking no, and then he smiled again because of other possibilities but they were on The Ridge, which happened to be on the other side of the resort. In other words, you couldn’t get any further from us! 
My eyes got real big and so did George’s as we realized what Javier was offering our dear friends. Rodney thought about it for a minute and then decided on the one closest to us. I offered up a silent thank you to Abba for watching out for them and then noticed Javier was again shaking his head in the negative. “It’s gone!” Just like that, bam! Gone!
He pulled out the map again and showed them the other two possibilities at The Ridge. Now, let me explain something
view from The Ridge
about The Ridge. You need a special key to get up there, first of all, and it’s pretty much like the penthouse area of the whole resort. The only reason George and I have ever seen the rooms is because of the member update, which includes a tour of The Ridge! Ramon handed Rodney and Cheryl a key and invited them to go take a look so we all headed up there to check it out.
OMG, you talk about a prince and a princess in a palace! Seriously, friend, I’m sharing this not to boast about this blessing but in the Giver of the blessing. When God is serving, it’s filet mignon, not hamburger! I was so happy for them because these are two people that do for others with servants hearts 365 days of the year without any expectation. Now here in Cabo, they were going to be served! This was way above and beyond all of our expectations! It was like a honeymoon suite and a presidential suite all wrapped up in one package, and with an amazing view of the marina!
So that was the third blessing in our first day! And again, let me emphasize, I am boasting on our Father’s goodness, not on ours or theirs!
Monday: I woke up to the sound of the crashing waves that put a smile on my face and cleared the cobwebs out of my mind as I remembered where I was. I made my way out to the kitchen but first went to the big sliding glass window in our living room and opened the curtains wide, allowing the beauty of the ocean to fill our room with its majestic sound. Then I headed for the coffee pot, poured two bottles of water into it, several scoops of Mexican coffee and pressed the “on” switch. The day had officially started! Not too long after that, Rodney and Cheryl knocked on our door to join us for George’s famous chorizo and egg breakfast!
We had agreed to participate in the “Update for owners” so we could get a $50 certificate per couple to use for an
a quick pose in the amazing tub!
activity, like parasailing, a sunset cruise, a spa treatment! They would be taking us next door to the newest resort called Grand Solmar, which George and I saw last year. Let me give you a little Cabo insight: The word “timeshare” is both a joke and a cuss word out here because everyone is pushing them from the moment you step foot in the airport to the walks you take out on the boardwalk! But, hey, we were on vacation and we had the time, so since Rodney and Cheryl hadn’t been here or to the Grand Solmar, we thought it would be something fun to do, kind of like checking out new homes.
We showed up in the lobby as instructed at 11:15. The receptionist introduced us to Ana Begonia, the one who would be conducting our tour. She was beautiful, and very friendly. By the time we got into the shuttle, Cheryl had already given her a flier for the book signing and I watched as she read it. Something she read on that flier really got to her because she looked at me, and smiled an intriguing smile, one that made me want to ask her what she was thinking about, but I didn’t have to. “Evinda – is that how you say your name?” I nodded my head. “– I need books like this. You have no idea.” She shook her head as if to shake away tears, even turning to face the other side for a few seconds. Then she looked back at me and she began to confide in me that just the night before she was crying – she said, “I was crying so hard, and I was like yelling at God, asking Him if I am supposed to stay at this job or not.”
Well that was an open door inviting encouragement, and so that’s exactly what I did because I so understand how it feels to be in that place of discouragement and confusion. I told her that God loves her so much and has a plan and that our meeting was no coincidence.
We arrived at Grand Solmar and Ana took us to three of the floor plans, each one more beautiful, extravagant in all its
The view from Grand Solmar
décor, lavish with amenities, and views that take your breath away. It was fun to pose in different places, pretending we lived in them, and yet, I know in my heart that this kind of lavishness is not what I or Cheryl desire!
We finished up the tour with Ana, and though we didn’t upgrade or purchase, I had come away from that experience a bit richer in a different way, knowing in my heart if all I had was all money could buy, I would be poverty stricken.
That evening was Fiesta night at the resort and there were a couple of significant blessings: One was running into someone I had met last year, a sweet gentle soul named Carol. This time she had brought her daughter, Laura and so we sat with them at the Fiesta and it was time that squeezed my heart as I learned more about them. I asked Carol about Pat, her friend who had come with her to Cabo last year. I learned that she’s been in a lot of pain lately and vowed to pray for her. So, Pat, if you are reading this, know I am praying for you and missed seeing you in Cabo.
Cheryl had us roaring!
The next blessing was the laughter we shared that night at the Fiesta. I don’t think I have laughed so hard in a very long time. I so needed the laughter, and even more than the laughter itself was whom I shared that with: Not just Rodney and Cheryl, but my husband, too. It’s been a long time since we laughed, a very long time and that night as I lay my head down on my pillow, I savored the sensation of true, deep-down from the gut laughter, the kind that makes your abdominals hurt, in a good way, of course!
The next morning when I woke up, my first thoughts were of the laughter we all shared from the day before. I don’t think I’ve ever realized its healing power, and maybe that’s because I’ve been in a tough and painful unpeeling process for a very long season and haven’t really laughed much, if at all. But then again, there is beauty in that as well, for I appreciate the gift of laughter so much more. That is the inspiration of these words:
Laughter from yesterday that makes your heart giggle today brightens the perspective for tomorrow!
Laugh today!
Evinda
No comments:
Post a Comment