God’s Provision Through the Storm: A Christmas We Won’t Forget by Dana-Lyn Phillips

 

Please welcome Dana-Lyn Phillips as she joins us once again as our Guest Blogger.

We didn’t have much money when I was growing up. Although we never did without, there wasn’t a lot of extra for vacations. One year we decided to forgo Christmas presents and drive to Disney World for Christmas day.

We began the trek from Canada to Orlando on December 22, 1989. That same day, the eastern states got hit with a blizzard that impacted our entire route to Florida. Southern states that never see snow were not equipped to handle it. Driving became treacherous and hotels filled quickly with stranded travelers.

We made it to Georgia but at the hotel we, like Mary and Joseph, were told that there was no room at the Inn. In fact, we were advised to turn around and head back in the direction we came from because there were no available rooms any further south.

We reluctantly pulled back onto the highway, praying we would reach the destination safely, and there would still be available lodging. We thankfully got the last room in the area. It was a motel end unit, on the second floor, that had its carpet cleaned that day leaving it soaking wet and frozen under our feet.

Exhausted and anxious we crawled into bed fully clothed in an effort to stay warm. We contemplated whether we should go on in the morning or turn for home.

As daybreak came, the storm raged on. We couldn’t stay in our frigid room, and travelers further south were not leaving their hotel rooms, so we made a decision to head home.

We reached West Virginia and found a hotel tucked up on a mountain. It wasn’t large but had a lobby with a stone fireplace and a restaurant that served the most amazing hot apple fritters.

Christmas Eve day the storm continued so we decided to stay through Christmas. The only hotel guests consisted of my family and a stranded family from California. We quickly became friends and spent our days around the fireplace. Hotel staff got to know us and brought us leftovers from their family Christmas dinners.

For the first time, there were no presents to open on Christmas morning. There was also no Disney World. What we did have though was God’s provision. God had provided safety as we traveled the roads, a warm place to stay, new friendships, a home cooked meal, the kindness of strangers, the beauty of His creation in the mountains, and memories to last a lifetime.

Scripture reminds us of the countless times God has provided for His people through land, food, shelter, children and protection but God’s most precious provision was Jesus. That’s what makes the Christmas season so special. We can remember and celebrate the birth of a baby born to a faithful teenager and arriving in the most humble of conditions. This baby is the Savior of the world. God provided Jesus to pay for your sins and mine. There’s no greater gift.

“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,

how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.”

(Romans 8:32 KJV)

What I learned in 1989 is that Christmas is not about presents but about presence. The presence of God, the presence of family and the presence of strangers.

God is good to always give us the gifts we need - not necessarily the gifts we want. I’d like to encourage you this season that when it seems as though your whole plan may be falling apart, embrace it. It may just be the gift you didn’t know you needed.

Dana-Lyn is a wife, and mother to teenage boys as well as a 14 year old cava-poo named Hockley. She is passionate about encouraging Christian women in their faith and is stepping into her mid-life "calling" as a writer. Her happy place consists of a comfy chair, a great book, a hot cup of coffee and a chocolate…or three! You can read more of her work at https://plansfargreater.substack.com