“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4, NIV)

Last time we discovered that our Heavenly Father always answers our pleas, but not always as expected.

Once we had landed in Edinburgh, British Airways had lost one of our suitcases, containing all our medication, our battery chargers and our toiletries (See The Lost Suitcase. Facing Unimaginable Odds, Part 30a). We were heading now to Inverness, where our Bed and Breakfast was located. Our rental car had no spare tire, and all of our phones were depleted of energy. Maybe we would learn in that trip how to make smoke signals!

When we arrived at St. Ann’s Guest House in Inverness, we were received as kings and queens. Quite different from waiting in lines at the British Airways counters for hours on end and then being dismissed because it was closing time!

When our hosts discovered the scenario we were in, they went out of their way to help us. Bob wanted to drive us to a place where we could buy clothes, and he gave what he had: an extra toothbrush, a brand new toothpaste, shampoo and hand lotion.

One of his guests gave us their phone charger, so that we wouldn’t have to learn how to make smoke signals. “We are leaving tomorrow anyway and our phone is charged”, they insisted. In our room, someone had forgotten their Ipod charger, and this way I was able to revitalize my Ipod and have access to Wifi as well. We were so surprised by the Scottish hospitality!

When we came back from grocery shopping, Bob insisted on cooking what we had bought,and even served us with plates and drinks. We had our own private restaurant!

These people were our highlight during our time of stress. They also were quite helpful in giving handy advice when we went sightseeing. They fulfilled what is writing in Romans: “Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.” (Romans 12:13. MSG)

We sure missed them when we left for Portree, for not all Bed and Breakfast hosts are that hospitable, as we would learn. At the next Bed and Breakfast we saw the owner once when we arrived. After that, we were on our own for 3 days. Our only place in that Bed and Breakfast was our room! A hotel would have been a better choice!

Got a flat tire? Wanna try some smoke

Signals? Or would my phone charger work better?

In His love,
Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “Facing Unimaginable Odds” devotional series, please click here.)