Vacations are great and I came home relaxed and rested, but yesterday I paid the price. It began with phone conference after phone conference; followed by meeting after meeting; followed by e-mail after text – after text after e-mail.
It seems that the mundane was handled while I was gone; however those difficult questions that no one cares to answer remained unattended and awaiting my arrival. It makes for a long day when every single issue that you face is a screaming fast ball tight against one’s jaw and no one lobs an easy one squarely across the plate.
So is it worth it to go on vacation? Yep, I sorely needed some time off. I’m even appreciative of the rotten weather for much of our stay.
Huh?
Just consider if it had been sunny and beautiful every day, we would have stayed on the go constantly and wouldn’t have been afforded the rest that we got from sitting in front of the fireplace complete with roaring fire, crackling logs, and a mesmerizing – dancing set of flames that stimulated mindless staring. In fact the fire combined with the rainy cold weather was more than adequate to stimulate me to head upstairs to take a nap on several occasions; (something I would never do at home). Not only was dancing with the flames a nice treat, but the nasty weather allowed us some quality time to spend with our friends, which was the real purpose of our going on this trip in the first place.
I’ve discovered that sometimes we can get so busy that we miss the most important blessings in life. I suspect God slows things down a notch just so we can realize that His purpose is ALWAYS good for our lives.
My buddy T.K. sent me several texts yesterday with photos of the bluebird skies and sunny weather (that literally cleared the day that we left to come home). He typed: “Come home to warm Montana”. His intent was to make me jealous of the nice Montana weather that is normal for this time of year; however I just smiled as I walked towards my truck in the hot Florida sun and humidity, muttering with a wide smile on my face, “Good for you my friend – Good for you! Enjoy your pristine beautiful Montana day”.
So this morning I awoke at 1:30 a.m. to get a head start on what is sure to be another frenzied day of calls and meetings. Montana dreaming is gone like the wind and there is work to be done.
I don’t regret that my vacation is gone; nope I’m just thankful that I got one in the first place, and as noted above I feel the same about the foul weather that we experienced during part of our vacation. I’m thankful for it too.
The older I get, it seems the more God enlightens me to be appreciative during all seasons. And I’ve learned that if I’ll just look deep enough, I’ll see God’s smiling face as He watches me land a trout, sits with me by the crackling fire, tucks me in for the night, or sits next to me through one of those tough meetings. He’s consistently the loving Father and only wants the best for me even when I’m short on faith and full of myself.
Yesterday during several of my many phone conferences the party on the other end asked, “Do you mind if we pray together before we get started?”
I responded, “Are you kidding me? Of course not! Please let’s pray”.
Without exception included in every prayer was sincere thankfulness for the many blessings that we have been afforded and for the opportunity that God has given us to serve Him. I would also like to add: Thank you Jesus for providing those cold rainy days and for that matter those hot sunny humid ones. We love you with all of our hearts and we know that You love us with all of Yours. Amen!
Have a great weekend and go to Honey Lake Church (or somewhere) this Sunday! And if you haven’t done so already, be sure and mark your calendar for July 13th for our second Sunday Worldwide Ministry extravaganza service where we will be joined by my good friend and world renowned evangelist Bill Fay.
Hosea 6:3
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
June 20, 2014 – Click here to listen