Family Friday #15 Vacation
Growing up the Moses Family went on vacations. In the summer we went to family camp at Forest Home. For our main vacation we usually went across the country to see our relatives and because we were a family of 6 we usually drove. My dad drove the car and my mom drove dad crazy and we kids were driven to crazy!
Jim’s family vacationed differently. They almost always went to Big Bear lake to camp and water ski where they had an Airstream and a Teardrop trailer, which Jim and I inherited. They did make the occasional trek to Arizona because Sheila’s brother, Bob and Helen Howard and boys (Bobby and Rich), and Hilda and Vic Hollister, Sheila’s sister and fam (Sue and Eddie) both lived there as did his nanny.
When we got married we travelled. We vacationed. We found the need to separate from our close proximity to work and our accessibility to “needs” (this was before cell phones) required us to go “off the grid”. We camped. We took our teardrop up and down the coast. We went to new places and we went to favorite places. We stayed in friend’s vacation homes and with friends. We did special things for special holidays.
The thing about vacations that I want to point out is how important they were in my life. Some of my core memories were made on vacations. Many people don’t have the opportunity or the funds to travel. Others don’t know how to slow down or how to play.
We live in a world where people separate the idea of play from faith. They leave God at home when they go away. I have learned something different. God wants to be part of every area of our lives. Faith and fun can intersect. The pre- trip plans build excitement. It lifts our mood as we have something to look forward to. Enthusiasm comes from several root words that literally mean to feel God inside. Planning a trip is a great reminder that God is with us. And then as the trip starts the enthusiasm builds and even becomes joyful gratitude for the opportunity to step away from the routines to refresh and rest and reset.
Another great thing about a vacation is the opportunity to live in the moment. To focus on the experience instead of the todo lists and the worries of the day. It changes perspective. It allows one to slow down and to notice the things that we have been too busy to see – to enjoy God’s creation, to embrace and restore relationships, to see beauty.
And the last thing I think of is the reminder offered by vacations that we are all travelers. Life is a journey. Every day here on earth is a chance to be the greatest versions of ourselves. Every day we travel with God who gently shows us new things as he guides us on the way we should go. And He carries us when the way is hard.
I am thinking about making a list of some of my favorite vacation and travel memories but perhaps each one deserves a word. I don’t know. But for now I am going on a vacation. I am going to go with enthusiasm (feeling God inside) and I am going to go with God because God always goes with me!