Dorothy was quite right when she assured us, "There's no place like home." After a week away, even having been on a great family vacation, there is just nothing quite so comforting as pulling into my driveway, using my own shower, laying down in my bed, smelling the usual smells and being greeted by a refrigerator stocked with… NOTHING! Hey, at least we're consistent.
As a kid who heartedly enjoys the comforts of my routine at home, I manage to stay on the go a fair bit. My aunt often jokes that I "have wheels on my butt." What can I say? I just love the rush of travel, the chance to see new places, make lasting memories, try once in a lifetime experiences… Basically missing home is worth it, in my opinion.
One thing I have discovered over the past week, however, is how easy it is to leave God out of our new experiences, once-in-a-lifetime moments or even our vacations. If you're like me, you start with the best of intentions; you don't pack your Bible, but its downloaded on your iPhone, so you've got access. You talk about attending a Church service if your trip overlaps a Sunday. You are part of a family that believes in prayer, so you know you'll have mealtime and bedtime prayers to rely on, and you plan to use part of your highly sought and coveted, daily alone time to reflect and spend time one-on-one with God. But if you're like me… Life happens.
I manage to score that alone time fairly often, but I use it to read, watch tv or sleep in the silence. I fall asleep praying or justify that little cousin's adorable, heartfelt bedtime prayer "counts" for me, too. I pass at least 20 churches, but don't want to be an inconvenience by suggesting my family attends, and I use almost every social media or game app on my iPhone, but not once do I pull up the Bible. :-/
It's as if I, unintentionally, try to take a vacation from God. I manage to justify "half-way" doing as I should because I "deserve a break," "I'm resting," or, "I'll pick it back up when I'm home."
I can be fairly ridiculous.
Lucky for me, God doesn't take vacations! He keeps working in my life, even when I fail to acknowledge or work with him.
- He uses His people to call me back to action, and specifically back to prayer for others, when I've lacked motivation to do so.
- He humbles me through the willingness and sincerity of a prayer from an 8-year-old.
- He keeps providing for my needs, continuing to fund my World Race account, even when I slack on fundraising efforts.
- He uses a week of living with 13 other people to get me pumped about living with my team for the next year!
- He reminds me of his power, highlighting a beautiful world of which He is in full control!
He's God, 100% of the time, no matter who or where we are. It's reassuring for me to know that He just doesn't go away. EVER! And He's challenging me to step up my game over the next few weeks while I'm immersed in travel, committing to keep Him as my priority, no matter what!
I remain a Work in Progress! 🙂
Be Blessed,
Ashlee
PS Here are some of my favorite shots from the past week's vacay. Enjoy. (There are more in the photo gallery!)
