Do you typically purchase travel insurance? Seriously. Do you naturally and instinctively purchase travel or any type of insurance related to flight, hotel, car or entertainment? If you do, I applaud you. I wish I could say the same. The “old” me didn’t see the point of spending the extra $100.00 for refund protection, credit guarantee and all the benefits that come with said insurance. While it does ring true that it is a form of money making scheme, there is some relevance to the guarantee of knowing should something come up, you’re covered.
The past couple of months Jarrod and I have gone through the ringer. In the moment as all trials tend to present itself, it felt as if we were drowning and barely grasping for the little air that’s left. First there’s the seemingly never ending car issues. Then there’s the plumbing issues that get a tad bit messy sometimes. And to add to all that we’ve had sinus infections, ribs out of place, pulled muscles and ligaments, strep and not to mention the not so pretty stomach flu. All while trying to navigate our daily schedules and demands of life. It’s not always pretty. Matter a fact, it’s never really pretty, but what helps is knowing there’s hope and this is not the end all. If you think about it you can find something to complain about. Just as I did. Rightly so, when life get’s uneasy and unpredictable, you and I can gripe, complain and dwell in our not so perfect life. But in all honesty our griping, complaining, groaning and moaning does nothing other than drive you and I crazy, into deep depression, anxiety and worst of all separates us from Christ.
Now back to my predicament on insurance. Jarrod and I have booked several trips and events that we unfortunately were unable to make or attend. Each time I called and asked for a refund or some form of credit I was told “Sorry, you didn’t have insurance. There’s nothing we can do.” The first couple times we were bummed by the reality we wouldn’t get our money back or a credit to our account. The big kicker was our most recent trip that included flights, hotel and cars. That one was a sucker punch to the gut. The accountant, penny pincher and need to have our finances in check didn’t swallow the pill well when the all too familiar words were said by the agent on the other line, “Sorry, you didn’t have insurance. There’s nothing we can do.” I sat quietly listening to the agent on the other line explaining the importance of insurance and pretty much everything I knew but was too stubborn to welcome the advice and correction.
What I’ve learned through the unexpected and wild ride Jarrod and I have been on these past couple months is:
- There’s no guarantee in tomorrow.
- There’s guarantee in insurance.
We don’t get a refund on time. We don’t get a refund on our response. We don’t get a refund on a lot of things. Life is unpredictable and our plans often don’t pan out the way we envisioned it. Reality is, too often we get caught up in not having things our way that we fail to realize the big picture. In all the closed doors, canceled trips and slow down in life Jarrod and I found ourselves thanking God for what we did not know. We don’t know what we were protected from. We don’t know why certain things didn’t pan out the way we wanted them to, but what we do know is that we submitted our lives to Christ fully and in that we said “have your way, God.” Ultimately, while we make plans we understand fully and accept that God’s will be done over our lives before our personal will and desires.
Now to conclude this weeks blog, let’s talk about insurance. With insurance there’s guarantee. There’s guarantee you probably will get your money back. There’s guarantee you will get a form of credit, and maybe even flight miles. Without insurance you are pretty much left empty, depleted and living a life of regret. It’s the same when we choose to walk without Jesus. Jesus is our insurance. He’s our guarantee to everlasting life. He’s our guarantee to peace in the midst of the storm. He is our guarantee to hope when all seems hopeless. He’s our guarantee to joy when life screams its’ attack and chaos of grief and loss. With Jesus, because of Jesus, we can live not worrying about tomorrow, but trusting that our daily bread is sufficient to carry us through.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -Matthew 6:33-34
Side note: from now on I will purchase insurance on flights, car rentals, events etc.
I’ve learned my lesson 🙂