Momma said there'd be days like this...

T-minus 3 days until vacation, and I can't wait.  In fact, I'm pretty much counting the hours until I get to get away for awhile.  It's been an interesting past couple of weeks, and some time to reflect and relax is precisely what the doctor ordered.

This year for vacation, my friend Scott (a.k.a el Tigre) and I will be traveling through the sheer cliffs of the northeastern Maine.  Our "goal" is to drive east through Boston, maybe have dinner at Cheers, and then head North to Maine.  After that, God only knows.  We're going to camp, hike, and try our best to get completely lost.  I'd also like to go fishing, and maybe see some whales.

Now, many of you may be asking if we have a plan.  Of course we have a plan.  Our plan is to get to Maine.  And that's about it.  You see, as youth pastors, our lives are about planning, thinking, evaluating, and all that good garbage.  We refuse to do that on our vacations.  We just go and see.  Adventure, it seems, finds us.  And, to be honest, we like it that way.  We have a map, a car, a tent, and a cooler (and maybe some fishing poles).  What more could we possibly need?

Not to make this discussion sound all "theological" but I think a freer vacation really allows for God to have room to teach us a few things.   For example, since we have no schedule we can stop at a beautiful sight and journal for a bit.  Sometimes, on previous getaways, we walked through the forest in silence and ponder why we ever got into ministry in the first place.  And we've even been able to bask in the morning dawn and weep about the kids we feel we've lost.  

For us, a vacation is not just about a renewal of the body, but also a cleansing of the mind and a refreshing of the Spirit.  Maybe that's why we pick destinations where we'll be the furthest away from people.  It's not that we don't love people, but too many can drowned out the voice of God.  Maybe we'll drive and worship on this trip.  Or just read through scripture.  I have an awesome prayer book I'm looking forward to working through.

If I'm honest, I need this vacation.  My mom always worried that I wouldn't have enough time to be alone.  Mom always had me pegged; she knew I needed silence.  She said there would be days I'd need to get away.  She said there'd be days like this.  

I need some solitude.  I need time away.  I need to get away from the noise of this world. Thanks to the advice of my mother, I hope I'll be able to hear the still small voice of my Father.