My fiance and I just got back from vacation. We had an amazing time, every day was a blessing. We didn’t really do much of anything, we just spent time together experiencing life and loving each other.
I found myself though at times struggling to disallow stress to creep into my mind. I found that the thoughts of things that will need to be addressed when I return home just kept hammering away at the door to my relaxation. I knew I didn’t need to be thinking about the mundane things I need to do at home but it was just be so hard to let go of the stress of life. It was like a radio just kept playing in my head, reminding me of all of the things I would need to do when I got home and the things that maybe I should have taken care of before I left.
I sat day after day analyzing things, telling myself to just enjoy my time away from home, convincing myself that there was no need to be thinking about things that were otherwise stealing my relaxation and enjoyment of vacation. I knew I just needed to focus on enjoying myself but sometimes it was hard.
I realized that sometimes vacation can make things I find irritating or unpleasant about day-to-day life seem much larger than they really are. I think my mind gets so focused on the daily grind that I fall into a rut that perpetuates in my thought pattern even when I’m away from that grind.
Hmm, sound familiar? If not, give it some thought. You will remember a time when you were just trying to relax away from home and you managed to get yourself into at least a little bit of an upset about something you were trying to leave behind.
We know that the enemy loves to attack us when we are sick, tired, confused, down, and generally out of sorts. However he also loves to attack us when we’re feeling great. He loves to attack us then so that we get sick, tired, confused, down, and generally out of sorts because that is exactly when he knows he can influence us the most. So what are we supposed to do?
I found myself focusing on making vacation a powerful experience full of such great memories. I made it a point every day to fill my head full of new memories. I made my head so full of great things that there just wasn’t any room in there for anything else except goodness. I made it a point to go above and beyond what I normally do for my fiance to increase my focus on making her feel so great. I made it a point to enjoy every moment of vacation from watching the waves break over the rocks to noticing how the birds flew through the sky (reference Matthew 6:26).
My point to this somewhat disjointed post is just to point out that we should enjoy life as it is laid out before us. We should take every opportunity to be able to put things into perspective, to relax, to leave our cares behind. So go forth and fill your head with all of the good things you possibly can! Fill your head so full of goodness that there isn’t any room for anything else. Don’t let the rain storms of the world interfere with anything. Put up God’s Umbrella and enjoy yourself! (Especially on vacation.)
