Take God with you on vacation

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jeffrey A. Ballou
  • 439 Airlift Wing Chaplain
Often times, the summer months provide for all of us longer days with warmer temperatures. We use this time to rest from our very busy and hectic lives: the hustle and bustle of daily living with its deadlines and demands on our time, not to mention the responding to instant messages, texting, twittering, facebook, emails, voicemails, and all of the rest of modern communication that leave a mark on our lives.

We all want to get away during the summer whether to the beach or the mountains or trips to National Parks out West, or far away adventures down under, or the Orient or the castles of Europe. Some just want to stay at home, too (now called staycations), to get things done around the house or to finally get to those projects that we've been meaning to work on.

Whatever your vacation or staycation plans might be, we all need to remember that God does not take a vacation from us and our lives; therefore, neither should we take a vacation from God. Instead, take God with you on vacation.

Could you imagine if God took a vacation from us? We would all cease to exist. We need to make room for God in our daily lives and remember to take God with us wherever we may go, including on vacations/staycations.

Whatever our faith, we need to practice that faith wherever we go and in everything we do. More times than not, whether on the beach or in the mountains, in the US or abroad, these times of rest and relaxation provide opportunities for all of us to reconnect with Almighty God.

During the normal course of our lives, we are so busy that we often forget to pray every day or worship God on our respective days of worship.

Consider this: Perhaps vacations or staycations afford us the time to rediscover our faith, and to reconnect with God, no matter where we might be.

In this age of instant information and expected instant responses, we often forget or block out those messages that we receive from God in our daily lives. Vacation time gives us all the chance to appreciate the beauty of God in nature and the beauty of creation, not to mention the appreciation of the beauty of human life found in others close to us or in far off lands. So, please take the time to slow down on vacation and thank God for all of the blessings we have in this life and in all those who we come into contact with and all of the experiences we've had since the last time we had some down time.

Have a great summer of fun and relaxation and adventure, but please remember to put God in your everyday life as well as your vacation plans as you are always in His Plans!

God Bless,
Chaplain (Capt.) Jeffrey A. Ballou
439 Airlift WIng Chaplain