Dear Honey Run Friends,
If I had written this letter yesterday my tone would have been one of being completely overwhelmed. Thankfully, today my tone is one of gratitude. I seem to be at a mid-life crisis point in my life. I absolutely love my job at The Inn and everything it entails, but this current employment crises has me feeling as though I am buried under a truckload of concrete. I easily slip into a hole of self-pity as I am trying to do the jobs of six people in one day. But then I get some perspective, and yes, while I am overwhelmed and missing out on some of life’s special moments, I think about the soldier facing death at war away from their family, friends, and creature comforts of America. I think about the single mother working two full-time jobs and still struggling to make ends meet, or about the business owner in Mariupol, Ukraine who 45 days ago had a thriving business and now all is lost, or about the orphaned child in a third world country with no one and no government systems to see to their welfare. I guess my 15-hour workdays and being pulled in every direction is not so bad.
I know that we all have our situations in life and what may be rough for one person could be a dream to another. The key to life is finding the proper perspective and to be grateful for wherever God has you in this life. I know that I am at this place, in this time, for a reason. I do not always see the reason, but I know one exists. I must find joy in all situations and in everything I do serve the Lord, while loving my neighbor. Once I stop, placing my wants and needs at the forefront of my life, I gain clarity and realize that it is not about me. Now please note, this is an ongoing fight that can occur multiple times in a day or even an hour depending on my challenges at the time. But when I am successful in letting go of my selfish world, I reach the joy and happiness I seek to fill with all my work and desires.
I pray this Easter you are able to let go of your ways and follow the Way. You won’t be disappointed, and He will bring you rest and comfort as you find your way home.
The flowers are starting to spring from the earth and the forest is itching to come alive. I hope you can join us this spring to watch the beautiful gift of nature coming alive.
Have a blessed and happy Easter from your grateful, no, overwhelmed, no, grateful Innkeeper,
Jason
Reading your letter made me want to reach out to you and say this to shall pass. Nothing stays the same (thank goodness right?) so you will weather this storm in your life. From reading you letter what shines through is your caring heart and that will lead you to the other side of this! Hang in there and know someone is thinking and praying for you and wishing you well! I had the pleasure of staying with you a few years ago for an anniversary. You do a wonderful job and Honey Run is a very special and unique place. I only wish I will be able to come and visit there again sometime.
Jason, thank you for your heartfelt words. Judy and I miss you all terribly, and seeing the photo from the porch of a Honeycomb room makes us miss it even more. I hope your workload lightens with the help of more people, and we dearly hope we’ll be experiencing that beautiful landscape from the Honeycomb very soon.
God bless you and Happy Easter!
Hang in there Jason! We all are experiencing similar days and challenges. We keep saying it can’t get any worse and then it does. Keep praying that these days shall pass (hopefully soon) and we can return to some sort of normal life again, but I doubt we will ever be back to pre-pandemic life.
Just take a walk and enjoy the beauty of your property! Even smoke a cigar and have a drink of your favorite beverage. That should ease the pain you are experiencing!!
Jason, please know Drew and I will be praying for you.
Seeking Him, honoring Him, and TRUSTING HIM, is what we must all do.
Hindsight shows CLEARLY, HIS Faithfulness through our lives. We can be assured HE will walk through all of our days with us.
Our entire world needs God’s Love so badly now.
You bring so much of His Love to so many.
Thank you, Jason.
May God strengthen and direct you in His Love.
I love your vulnerability Jason. It is very encouraging. I love the examples of other peoples lives and struggles compared to our own. I am dealing with a tough issue of myself and find myself in self-pity more often that I want to. I to think about other peoples situations that are way worse. Life is hard and I just want to say, the Inn means a lot to me. I hope to visit more often but I hope and PRAY that The Lord will grace you during this crises and give you ideas that would even help everyone work smarter, not harder…however that could work in the hotel business (I have no idea but He can do it!). Blessings to you and your family & workers at the Inn.
Great letter, and one I needed to read! I often feel the same as you shared. However spending just 5 minutes watching a newscast, or reading news online jerks me into reality.
May the Lord give you and your staff strength and perseverance!!
AMEN!!!!!!
Jason,
As I mentioned when I was there last month, The Inn is my favorite self-retreat place to go. I love everything about it; the people (You all are fantastic!), the room (my room 😉) the grounds, the food, the peace, the laid back/do what I want to do or nothing at all atmosphere, the bird and squirrel show outside my window, and oh, I can’t forget Oscar.
Jason, I know the work is hard and the hours are long but know that you and what you do are blessings beyond words. Be encouraged! Be blessed! And thank you for encouraging me look at the blessings in spite of the obstacles.
Father God, give Jason and everyone who works with him special blessings today and on into the future. You hold all of us in the palm of Your hand. We are grateful for Your watch care over all of us and for the gift of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior. And we look forward to our heavenly home where the work is not hard or grievous but a delight! Amen!
Thank you again Jason!
P.S. See you again in August!
Jason,
As I mentioned when I was there last month, The Inn is my favorite self-retreat place to go. I love everything about it; the people (You all are fantastic!), the room (my room 😉) the grounds, the food, the peace, the laid back/do what I want to do or nothing at all atmosphere, the bird and squirrel show outside my window, and oh, I can’t forget Oscar.
Jason, I know the work is hard and the hours are long but know that you and what you do are blessings beyond words. Be encouraged! Be blessed! And thank you for encouraging me look at the blessings in spite of the obstacles.
Father God, give Jason and everyone who works with him special blessings today and on into the future. You hold all of us in the palm of Your hand. We are grateful for Your watch care over all of us and for the gift of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior. And we look forward to our heavenly home where the work is not hard or grievous but a delight! Amen!
See you again in August!
Wow. Talk about putting life in perspective. Yes, we in America are so fortunate. And we take a lot for granted. We live in peace here and that is only through God’s good grace. Jason, we know Carla and we are looking forward to coming to experience the Inn At Honeyrun soon. You all sound like amazing staff. God bless your work.
I was so very blessed to be able to spend 3 nights with you last week. Wish that peace could last forever. Unfortunately Monday morning was a vivid wake up call. I stayed in one of the honeycombs and was able to enjoy and just sit in the sun for one day….other days were overcast and rainy. I understand your predicament with having help issues. We had tried to stay with you one night, several times in 2021 and were told you did not have enough help. Likewise with trying to get in for dinner when we stayed somewhere else. Am erenestly praying this situation will soon pass for all of us in so many different areas of our lives. Maybe you can just sit on the porch of a honeycomb once every while, and soak in the peace that the rest of experience and enjoy. As an aside, I swear those sheep that I watched for my time there, were saying good bye as I drove away. Everyone of them followed me with their eyes!
Just talked about the Inn at Honey Run with a friend today. Planning on coming down in May. You have created something very special that has grown over the years and we appreciate all of your hard work. Thank you!
Jason
Your letter gave me such hope for what’s to come .
Our world is different now , and so are our struggles. I’ve stayed at your place and it was Paradise
Take a deep breath and breath !
Our Lord is carrying us right now and giving us strength
Thank you so much for sharing your deepest concerns
Hi Jason-I so enjoy reading your letters. I have found that as a person encourage others, it encourages them. I pray that you know how much these letters encourage others. These tough times will pass and God has assured us he will give us the strength to see them through. As I said in an earlier reply, my husband and I had our last vacation at the Inn-a wonderful week I think about quite often. May God continue to bless you and your work, and continue to richly bless those who visit the Inn.
Your letter perfectly describes how many of us are feeling right now. Thank you for your honesty & thank you for reminding me to be grateful in all circumstances. I saved your letter so I can re-read it when I need a reminder.
Thank you brother Jason for all, one thing I want to say is” amidst all, remember , there are a multitude of following you, that if you gave up, they would perhaps be any more” secondly, there are many people in the US and here in Uganda praying for you always.
I trust that you will overcome and sometimes I feel giving help hand for your days tasks though.
Thank you
Seth.
Prayers Jason. You are a very strong person and strong in your faith. May the Lord ease your stress at this time. Cinda
Jason your words sound so much like something I would have penned just a few short years ago….
I’ve been a single mom for 17.5 years now.
And just became an empty nester last July…..
But while raising my four kiddos, I always worked at least a full time + part-time job, at one point I waams literally juggling THREE part-time jobs while going to college fulltime an hour away….
I tell this not to brag, but to give God the glory and to encourage others!…
Like your letter stated, perspective is the key…
I too thought of how much worse others had it & realized while my life seemed unbearable at times, they’re were many praying for me and many others praying for what I had….
Exhale, relax that jaw & wiggle those shoulders…
Then look up and wink, with Christ you can do all things! 🙂