Just as the beetle invasion was getting extremely bad, our neighbors stopped by our house after recently hosting a rummage sale. They had tried to sell two working Rainbow vacuum cleaners and no one bought them. These neighbors knew I liked this brand and even older used ones can sometimes be very high priced. The nice thing about a Rainbow is that whatever you vacuum goes into a container of water and when you are finished cleaning you dump the water. It keeps dust and smells from emitting back through your house and is perfect if you have pets and especially hard wood floors. My neighbors are so sweet and often drop by and bring us vegetables from their garden and today was no different except they dropped off two used but perfectly working Rainbow vacs with ALL the attachments. I was amazed.....but little did I know just how handy these tools would be over the next few days.
As the temperatures continued to warm, our home and our bed and breakfast soon became host to literally thousands of beetles. Our dining hall, rooms, hallways and foyers were teaming with these little orange/yellow demons. Now they do serve a purpose in a farming community and assist the local farmer with the bug food chain, but once the harvest is done, I'm sorry, there is just no room at the Inn for these little buggers. We realized this was going to not be just a battle, but an all out war. We donned ourselves with bug spray, filled the vacuums with water, and adjusted the attachments for suction. Realizing events as they occurred the verses in Matthew 6:7-8 came to mind, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for you Father knows what you need before you ask him.."
Little did I realize that God had answered my need before I had even prayed. We used the two Rainbow vacuums for two solid days to relieve our establishment of the beetles. God then graciously allowed the temperatures to drop, sent wind and rain and kept them at bay while we hosted weekend guests. We did daily inspections and the problem lessened with each passing day. I know for a fact that if I had been an Egyptian during the plagues that I would have gone utterly mad. Frogs, gnats and flies would have put me in an asylum with no hope of recovery.
I have entrusted our business to God and he has met so many needs in advance and he has made provision when I didn't know I needed it so often I stand in amazement at all he does for one of his own in the middle of a small rural town. We complain about our circumstances, but truly God has plans for us and for each day and we should look at these bumps as opportunities to see his hand at work. We want comfort, not growth. We want ease, and not perseverance. We want great lives, but at little cost. We want heaven, but no difficulties. Yet, he still knows what we need before we even ask and is faithful to care for us.
As our season comes to a close we will clean and winterize our building and I will have to wash beetle poop off of our curtains (they mess on anything they are on if you disturb them, really?) but I am so grateful that the Lord provided two Rainbow vacuums and two selfless neighbors before I even knew I needed them. "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." ~Psalm 100:5
