Our First and Last Vacation

My husband and I breathed a sigh of relief when the plane took off. Home sweet home. It used to be that returning home after three weeks of vacation seemed so depressing. But this time, well, we had just survived our first vacation with a 4 month old. An accomplishment indeed!

Long romantic walks on the beach, watching the sunset from the big rocks on the shore, picnic lunches, game nights…never happened. Instead, everything was timed around naps {a rare occurrence} and feeding times {which were way too often!} Yes, we had a fussy, growing, out-of-routine baby on our hands.

At the end of every night, after finally convincing David that sleep was the best option, the three of us crashed. The waves of exhaustion felt like the only thing we were swimming in for a couple weeks.

All my hubby and I were looking for was a bit of a break. We were new parents searching for a refreshing time away from the usual routine. A vacation at the beach with family seemed blissful. Thankfully, I didn’t go with too many expectations; I had a hunch it would be difficult.

Challenging. Vacation. Those two words definitely didn’t go together for us…until now.

Although we didn’t vocalize it to one another when we stepped foot into our tiny apartment it felt more like vacation than the beach.

As nice as romantic walks in the sand, sunset conversations, picnics, and late night game evenings sounded, it really wasn’t what we needed.

What we actually needed was to realize that, with the Lord, we can honestly find the rest and refreshing we are looking for every day… wherever we are. We know this, but now we really know this after our first vacation with our new baby.

In actuality, we were searching for that we already had right in front of us. God offers us a rest that we will never find in a three week getaway to the beach.

So with that said, this was David’s first and last “vacation.” From now on, we don’t need to wait until the holidays roll around until we get to feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

I guess you could say we don’t believe in vacations anymore.

Our break isn’t found in the perfect place, the nicest ocean property, the quietest, most tranquil cabin in the woods, or a five-star bed and breakfast.

I’m not saying we don’t need to get away sometimes, we do! But the point is God offers us a deeper rest right where we are.  Unlike the once or twice a year vacations we so look forward to, God’s getaway place is always open and accessible, whether you are at home, at work, or have a screaming babe in your arms.

It may sound cheesy to you, but God can top every destination and resort that travel magazines has to offer.

Enter into his rest today. Anticipate and expect Him to usher you away today into the beautiful places of his presence-let Him crash over you with His refreshing waves of peace.