The Get-Away

It seems everyone is having wonderful vacations this year!  Our son Trevor's family has just returned from a cruise. Much more than a stay aboard ship with marvelous food and entertainment, their vacation included adventures such as zip-lining over a Honduran jungle, cave-tubing in Belize and splashing in the refreshing waters of Little French Key.

Son Mark and grandson Grant enjoyed the hospitality of a friend's invitation to New York, a first-time visit for both.  They shared Facebook pictures from a boat with the two of them posed on either side of the Statue of Liberty in the background.  I loved the shots of them biking in Central Park.  They even saw a Broadway play, not to mention the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Times Square and Grand Central Station.

Grandson Reid went along with friends to Disney World, saying it was the best trip there he had ever had.  I can't keep up with his sisters' activities, as it seems they are constantly rafting, tubing, floating, concert-ing or going to a beach somewhere.  (All this worked in despite summer life-guard jobs and hanging with friends.)

We kept busy and on the roads, too, celebrating the graduation of one grandson and the wedding of another. These gala events contrasted sharply with the sorrowful good-byes to my brother and our eldest grandson at their services this summer.  Even those occasions were not devoid of sweetness, though, at the pleasure of being with loved ones who live far away.

Vacations are important, and can be a time of refreshing and of gaining new perspectives.  Jesus recognized the need for rest and getting away from people when he advised  his disciples as recorded   in Mark's gospel. "And he said to them, 'Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.' For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a desert place..." Mark 6:31-32.

This was shortly after John the Baptist had been beheaded.  No doubts their hearts were sorrowful at this great loss.  People need time and space to grieve when someone dies.  My daughter and her husband felt the need to get away after their son's death.  They took solace in the beautiful Tennessee mountains near the ancestral home of Julie's grandmother, my mom.

Life goes on after vacations and times of rest, and/or sorrow.  In our family, life is rushing in, swirling with happy events. Julie's preemie baby grandson, our great-grandson, has gained over two pounds and has been released from the hospital.  Our now-oldest grandson and his fiance' have announced their engagement to be married next year.

There is a beautiful passage in Song of Solomon, reminiscent of our call to our heavenly home. "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land....Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!" Song 2:10-12, 13. 

Verse 9 says he is looking through the windows, gazing through the lattice!  It can't be long before  see Him and our loved ones in heaven, the sights making any earthly vacation pale in comparison!

"But as it is written, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'"