Pausing for vacation has a good vibe for peace of mind.
Stepping away has three treasures for you, your family and your community at large.
Treasure 1: Pausing leads to rich time with others
Family and business life move so fast these days, we can’t see tension.
We feel it, but we can’t . . .
- see it
- relieve it
- call it out
Even when there’s no crisis, we need a break.
Folks we see and work with everyday need a break from us too.
So, I thought a spring trip to the Texas Hill Country would delight with wildflowers.
Googling the best places to stay in Fredericksburg, I found the Rose Hill Retreat.
Never seen a bed and breakfast like this with . . .
- spacious suites and porches
- privacy with elegant accommodations
. . . all perched on a magnificent hilltop draped by pastureland and oak trees.
Like kids who go to ‘time-out’ because their spirit is out of whack, adults need ‘time-out.’
Not just for us, but for all of our relationships.
How better we are to step away and evaluate our . . .
- thoughts
- feelings
- behavior
- direction
. . . with purposeful pausing?
Treasure 2: Pausing leads to healthy rhythm
Recently, I came across a baffling line by Robert Louis Stevenson, “Extreme busyness, whether at school, kirk or market, is a symptom of deficient vitality.”
Really? Most folks think that busyness is a sign of vitality. Maybe Stevenson meant to say “abundant” instead of “deficient.” But, he goes on to say, “It is no good speaking to such folk; they can not be idle, their nature is not generous enough.”
Is it possible that busyness is a sign of spiritual vacuum?
An old Chinese proverb says, “When there is no time for quiet, there is no time for the soul to grow. The man who walks through a countryside sees much more than the man who runs.”
Busyness hurts your community too.
- Spouse
- Children
- Co-workers
- Faith group
Practicing solitude adds margin to everyone.
When you eat, play, read and relax in a new setting, your soul is reborn.
Landscapes cease to be a blur and become a pastoral scene of color, dimension and depth.
“Tomorrow” replaces “now.”
Putting things off on purpose dispels stress from imagined importance.
“Later” allows the subconscious mind to find gift-wrapped answers the next day or next week or maybe next month.
God made us to be wholesome for our communities.
He calls us to . . .
- lift
- love
- heal
- harmonize
. . . the folks we live and work with.
“Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden; or Life in the Woods (1854)
Treasure 3: Fresh encounter with the Creator
On this trip to Fredericksburg, I drove to nearby Comfort, TX, where I had a spiritual encounter at an outdoor chapel as a youngster (age 11).
I firmly believe that anyone . . .
- young or old
- poor or rich
- foolish or wise
. . . can hear God’s voice if they listen.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
My encounter 56 years ago was distinct.
It happened after hearing and believing these words.
“’Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” John 7:37-39
Last week I visited that chapel in Comfort pausing to relish the beginnings of my faith 56 years ago.
Took my breath away as I drove up the hill and saw the steeple.
It’s not that this little chapel is a big deal.
But, it was the place I heard God’s voice and responded.
What a lifetime game-changer.
Purposeful pausing can uncover fresh reminders that you are not alone in this world.
Who or what refreshes your soul?