My parents didn’t have much. They always socked a little money aside each month to save for our family vacation. Venturing from our tiny western Kansas community, Dad searched for hotels with pools … and if one had a slide; my sisters and I were fish in wonderland! We collected General Mills cereal box bottoms and headed to the “big city” to redeem them 3/ticket for KC Royals bleacher seats among local diehards. Skyscrapers poking clouds, too many people to count, and new cultures to visit excited us.
The jagged Rockies hosted our simplest, yet most memorable trips as kids. Exploring, catching stream trout, hikes determined by waterfalls, spying on bears, moose, big horn sheep, and mountain goats filled our days. Each evening concluded as we circled camp fires, eating outdoors among critters, bathed in the radiant sunset, breathing the Spirit carried in the breeze, wood coals cracking, voices crisp, and stories grand. The sheer vastness of God’s creation too much to absorb in any lifetime, His cathedral welcomed us. As kids, we felt loved and valued for our ideas … and that surprise swim in a thermal spring … a memory sure to revisit in the future. Far from luxurious, our vacations were blessings, gifts. Though definitely tiring, our adventures refreshed, rejuvenated … enduring more than the endorphin-rush after long runs, bike rides, or swims.
Jesus hiked everywhere … and even His pace was often too fast. Frequently, He climbed switchbacks up into the mountains to pray … to listen … to see … taking time for thought allowing majestic beauty to envelop Him. United, He rested … praised the Father with thanksgiving asking for guidance.
Today, thinking she preferred to fly like her mother, my daughter surprised me when she preferred driving for vacations. Collecting license plates, discussing lyrics to songs, exploring new lands, planning the next roadside park lunch, experiencing new cultures, visiting a host parish to discover the Mass is catholic, she slowed our pace to “be in more in the present.”
We all need to reconnect with each other and with our Creator as Jesus did with the Father. We need time with old friends, relatives, new friends … each other. We need to accept and expand the gift of relationships. Experiencing the Awesome, play, and wonder are not restricted to children, but to the childlike. In flowers growing only above 10000 ft. in elevation, Christ reveals Mystery in creation. Witness glaciers calving and haystacks rising out of the ocean. Feel powerful waves crashing against beaches and cliffs then rolling gently back to sea. Trace the grand crevices cutting through the canyon lands. Pace the tidal changes revealing briefly mythical creatures and landscapes beneath the sun and the moon. Admire the thunder and lightning clashing in distant magnificent storms. Too great to comprehend, accept the blessings, these precious gifts our Lord has entrusted us to protect, preserve, and to deliver with care to generations to come.
Vacations need not be elaborate. I encourage periodic small segments of time, perhaps the Ozarks YMCA or Missouri’s State Parks, rivaling the best in the country. I’ve heard of some challenging volunteer vacations. There’s a mathematical law somewhere stating, the simpler the vacation, the greater the enjoyment, the refreshment. However, they take planning. Quality time together is special. Put the cell phones away!!! Turn off the TV!!! Let each individual star shine in your planning! Leave the visitor’s center behind and get out!
The heavens are telling the glory of God and all creation is shouting for joy.
Come dance in the forest, come play in the field and sing, sing to the glory of the Lord ….
Clear your mind and enjoy this National Geographic photographer’s sense of awe and wonder in his discovery!
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