I NEED A VACATION!!! How many of you have ever said that? Don’t lie. Ok, maybe you haven’t said those exact words, but you may have felt discontent with where you are, what you have, or who you are. When we go through challenges and trials, we often take an entitled response to these tribulations thinking I deserve a vacation while at other times we may just desire a break.
Two things I have learned about rest: Rest is precious often seemingly unreachable and rest is good for the soul. Jesus took time to get away from the daily grind and encouraged his disciples “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest for awhile” Mark 6:30.
You may be thinking, you’re one to speak, Jashley. You travel often. It is true, I love to travel. It is one of my many passions. I learn so much from other countries and their cultures, however, travel is not ultimate, and it is most definitely not home. I haven’t traveled this year besides driving to my graduate school in Indiana and visiting my best friend in NJ for her birthday. It has been a busy season, but I have been glad to settle into it. I have seen more of my “tribe,” my friends and family. It has stirred up and fostered a deep contentment for the present, the now, and where I am.
The author of Hebrews called people to contentment and to trust in their Savior:
Be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5(ESV)
And Solomon, considered one of the wisest men said:
18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20(ESV)
Friends and readers, we are not promised tomorrow or even the rest of this day. Live well in the toil, challenges, and beauty of the now. Life is short. You may be up to your neck in papers and assignments for school, college applications, diapers and little hands (for you mommas), work and deadlines that seem unending, or simply are stressed about the future and feel as though you need a vacation. May I encourage you to pause and find joy where you are now…
I leave you with the founder of Sevenly’s thoughts on vacation, they’re too good to not be shared:
“VACATIONS LIE. Culture tells us to spend an entire year saving for a week to escape our life. We call it vacation. Even as I'm on this incredible road trip across the Northwest with my family, something doesn't feel right. Vacations are meant to be new, they are meant to be fun, but they are not meant to be better than your normal life. I've been all around the world, and I would never trade travel for what I have at home. Life isn't about the 50 vacations you'll take while you're on this planet. It's about the 25,000 days between them. Stop creating a life that you need a vacation from. Instead, move to where you want to live, do what you want to do, start what you want to start, and create the life you want today. This isn't rehearsal people. This is YOUR life."