Not your everyday vacation

When you plan a vacation what factors do you consider? For myself, I think about relaxation, new locations, entertaining nights, and GOOD FOOD. I could travel the world simply in pursuit of new delicious foods! A combination of a college student budget, a summer long rotation, family commitments, and friends who are busy being wives, mothers, and full-time professionals put a hault to my travels this year. I didn’t take a vacation that consisted of any of my favorite “vacation-filled” delights but instead woke up during my “week off” with a chest cold. Like anyone, I thought of course I would get sick this week and then I began to replay the past few days in my mind and realized I had done exactly opposite of what you are supposed to do to prevent sickness. So, here I am lying in my bed feeling miserable, calling myself an idiot over and over again, and somewhere between an aching throat and self-abuse I realize I am hot. Not an “I have a fever” hot but “I’m wearing a parka sitting on the beach” hot. I get up to check my thermostat in my apartment and to my amazement it states 68 degrees (the normal temperature I keep it at while I am sleeping) BUT my house temperature is 78 degrees! Now, in the midst of the already not so good morning, I have a broken air-conditioner. I call my landlord who gives me the number of a repairman he uses. I call on a Monday morning and he kindly tells me he will be there on Wednesday morning to look at it. Had I known then that by Wednesday morning, he really meant Thursday afternoon, I would have stayed elsewhere. But I didn’t. I stayed in an apartment with no air-conditioner. Maybe now is a good time to mention that since I had been gone all summer my apartment also had no cable and a very limited food selection. After medicating myself and trading in my coffee for hot tea, I thought what am I going to do today. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks…all summer you wanted “me time” and here it is! Finally, time alone! Time to forget about tretament plans for knee replacements, grocery lists for my grandmothers, and a month's worth of clothes that were slowly taking over my bedroom floor. Time to get back to me. Like I always do, I began with my true passion and purpose in life…God. In my not so ideal apartment conditions, I examined myself and my life and began to see that for the past year I had made God so small. I had made my desires, my plans, my problems, my trials, and my fears BIG and my God so very small. In pure brokenness, I began to weep. A box of tissues later, I reminded myself that this was my vacation and what better way to spend it than in/with the Lord. So I did. I spent an entire week seeking and listening to God by praying, reading my bible, and listening to Addison Road. I didn’t eat fattening desserts or fresh seafood…I ate chicken noodle soup and drank hot tea. There were no deluxe accommodations…I had no cable, no air-conditioning, and no maid service. And my exciting night life didn’t include live shows, shopping, concerts, or even a good movie. I managed to have a weeklong vacation with none of my normal indulgences and when I ended my vacation I could honestly say, it was the best vacation I ever had!



My vacation reminded me of my passion and my purpose and renewed my spirit. My spirit that exists to brighten days, delight in simple things, laugh a lot, appreciate the beauty friendships, believe in miracles, and most importantly invest in the lives of others. Through this blog may you get inside my brain and share with me the daily adventures I am privileged to call life and may you take with you a piece of my heart that I hope makes a difference during each and every one of my daily adventures.

Verse to Remember: Psalm 62:7  Trust in him at all times, pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.