Don't feed the bear sign is all too serious

Vacationing recently in Tennessee, I began to watch and listen to other vacationers. Some were giddy with delight as if every moment held them captive as Virgin travelers outside their routine lives.

Children ran through hotel halls on scavenger hunts.

Purposely seeking out people in love with life and one another captivates me.

People are who they are, even at rest. Real rest eludes anxious souls. Worried and fearful individuals take that mess with them on vacation.

Standing in line at the “Breakfast Bar” I watched a lady rush in chattering like a speed reading instructor demanding the man close behind her to get to the cinnamon rolls before they were all gone.

“These people will devour them before we get there! Hurry!”

Then dashing ahead of several elderly and disabled children to grab a plate first. I giggled to myself and thought, “Has this woman had a life of sparsity?”

I wanted to teach her how to soothe her anxious soul.

“I hope she gets the Decaf Coffee,” was my other thought.

I could have probably interviewed the hen-pecked man on her tail for that answer as to whether she ever relaxed and gave up the reins of control. It was best I kept quiet.

Another person complained about every bite and situation in a tone of sadness and disappointment that revealed layers and years of unhappiness and discontent.

I silently prayed for her. We were in a beautiful Five Star Grand Hotel having a delicious full complimentary breakfast on a sunny Sunday morning with a pool on the other side of the picture window at the base of the Smoky Mountains. There was nothing to be discontented over.

That woman viewed her situation through a broken spirit in need of mending. Nothing would probably have satisfied her.

A young boy, about ten years old and confined to a mobile battery powered wheelchair, came to breakfast two mornings in a row. His smile shined almost as bright as the sunrise over the misty mountain view. He gingerly navigated that large piece of equipment, he was captive to, through a crowded buffet room with joy.

Nothing was easy for him, yet his disposition glowed of contentment and bliss. He was on his summer vacation with his family and there were biscuits and gravy in his sight. Life was good! “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart…” Matthew 15: 18a (NKJV).

While waiting for the elevator in the parking garage to arrive to take us into the hotel a lady approached us with concern that we had not left any food in our car. She proceeded to say that bears were spotted the evening before trying to get into cars and seen in the pool area.

Before she took a breath, she exclaimed the bears were at one time inside the hotel roaming the halls.

Conveying compassion and empathy for the woman, I listened with the expression of concern in my body language. Though I secretly thought the woman was overreacting. Her nervous tone made me believe she watched too many horror movies or unsolved mysteries. I dismissed the conversation after a few minutes and completely forgot about it.

The next morning walking up a hillside to an old country church we could not help but notice perfectly formed bear tracks leading to the church door. Then, returning to the hotel from this excursion, I noticed the large bear paw prints on the wall next to the elevator button.

“Those bears were trying to push the elevator button!”

Now, who was overreacting? I anxiously watched for bears the entire rest of my Tennessee vacation. Sitting in a restaurant in the middle of the afternoon I wondered if a bear would join us for lunch.

The signs in the restaurants, “Don’t Feed the Bears!” are not for decoration. They are real warnings.

As we enjoy the rest of our summer, may we seek contentment of heart in the One who gives peace. Then relaxation will come more easily, and may anxiety flee us.