Every time I think of a Gideon’s Bible I think of that song Rocky Raccoon. I’m up late right now and can’t sleep. That’s really nothing new these days, except I’m staying at a hotel and trying to get over a bad cold. I miss having my pets around and I hate the noise that comes with staying in a hotel, but there can be some upsides. I treated myself to some in-room dining. The cold kept me from venturing out and frankly it’s nice to make a phone call and a few minutes later have a nice meal appear at your door. Okay, that’s just like ordering pizza or Chinese food, I know, but it feels different. Better. And I’m also really enjoying the mirror on the closet door. I don’t normally like looking in the mirror, but this one is two mirrors with a divider down the center where the door folds. When I stand in front of the center of this mirror/door, half of my body disappears. I’m thin again. Wow, I look great.

Okay, bored with that and still not sleeping. I’ve had a really tough time lately with the whole unemployment thing plus some other stuff that has basically added up to some serious frustrations and me being a not-so-nice person. The reason I’m boring you with that complaint will become evident with the remainder of the story, so hold on and keep reading. I thought a few months ago I was doing pretty well with the “waiting on God” thing and being patient as His plan took place. Lately I’ve had some serious arguments (one-sided of course) with Him about his lack of haste. In any case, I have always enjoyed God’s sense of humor and the fun ways he likes to inject himself into my life. Like dropping hints and reminders to me through various means. This latest one was interesting and it made me think of a neat experiment we could all take part in.

So back to the sleeplessness in the hotel room. How to calm down and drift off? TV, done. Mirror image thing, done. Bath, done. Read through some passages of the Bible placed by the Gideons in the drawer next to the bed? Yup, good idea. It may help me calm down and sleep and I’ll earn brownie points with God so maybe he’ll get a move on with the job thing and the other stuff that’s pissing me off. As I looked for some uplifting passages I noticed a page that was dog-eared. And when I looked over that page, I started wondering about the visitor to this room that dog-eared that page. Looking more closely, I saw a pencil mark noting a specific passage. Hmmmmm. This started my imagination going. Who was it? What was this person going through that made them pick up the Gideon’s Bible in the night stand and circle this passage? Someone struggling with their marriage? Someone struggling with doing something right or wrong? (Remember, I was in a hotel room suffering from sleep deprivation late at night.) Was it someone who was going to give a speech at a seminar and needed inspiration? I skimmed some more and found more dog-eared pages with more passages circled. And what was funny was that these passages were perfect reminders for me. Thanks God. I know you did this. Good one. Here were two of the passages that the traveler left for me.

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Mathew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Here is an idea I’d like to put out to all you dear readers. Next time you’re in a hotel room, look through the Gideon’s Bible in the night stand and see if some pages are dog-eared and some passages are marked. And maybe make some of your own to give hope to the next weary traveler. At the very least you may inspire their imagination about who stayed in that room and what was happening in their life when they marked those passages…something to dream about. Good night.

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