Do You Need a Rest from Your Vacation?

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Do You Need a Rest from Your Vacation?

by Dr. Alan D. Hix

The first week of July is a time when more Americans take their summer vacations than any other time. Families will book their vacations a year in advance, and when it arrives, they try to cram in as many activities as possible. They arrive home Sunday night exhausted, and then they have to drag themselves back to work on Monday. More than once, I have heard people complain that they need a vacation from their vacation!

If the purpose of a vacation is to “rest” from our work, why do we work so hard to make our vacation an “amazing getaway,” only to get home never really having “rested”?

In the movie Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh declares that “Doing nothing often leads to the very best something.” Christopher Robin desperately needs to hear this, because he gets so wrapped up in life and work that he forgets to have fun. He never does “nothing” because he is running from one responsibility to another. Does this sound familiar?

From the beginning, God designated a day of rest.

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:2-3).

This time of resting was so important to God that he included the command “to honor the Sabbath Day and keep it holy” in the Ten Commandments. Later in Deuteronomy, when Moses is reminding the people of this, he gave them a reminder to “remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15).

While we may not have the luxury of ceasing all activity, we can approach our lives with the practice of taking time to appreciate the moment. Christopher Robin is so busy trying to be successful at work to get ahead, that his wife Evelyn chides him with “Your life is happening now, right in front of you.”

The Israelites had been slaves for over 400 years, working endlessly, day after day. Now that they were free to build their own society, God blessed them by declaring a day of rest. Like Christopher Robin, people spend too much time trying to get to the next moment that they miss the present moment.

We should take time to really listen to people without working on how we will respond. We need to stop and really look at the world around us and marvel at its beauty and complexity. Now that we are on the other side of the pandemic, we can touch again. Take the time to shake hands, hug, and put your arm around those closest to you.

And when you go to church, take time to really listen to the prayers that are offered. Give your heart to singing the praises of God regardless of whether you are on pitch or not. Engage your mind fully as the Scripture is read and wait with expectation for God to speak to you as His Word is proclaimed.

Take time to engage in wonder that God loves us so much that he gave us his most precious gift, at great cost to himself. Take the time to do “nothing,” and see if you don’t discover “the very best something.”

About The Author Dr. Alan Hix is an Associate Professor of Christian Studies at Shorter University. In addition to being and educator, he has served churches as a pastor, been involved in mission trips to Africa, Canada, and Alaska, and participated in archaeological excavations in Israel for several years.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE, JUDE 1:22

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