I’ve been away from my computer for almost a month – 2 weeks of travel with our entire family of 13, an added week on the road for us after our sons and their families flew home, and a few more days of recovery for weary grandparents traveling with grandchildren ages 5-21! We are rarely aware from home for that long, so getting back into the groove took on a whole new look.
After 3 weeks of the halcyon (such a literary word) days of vacation, re-entry was a bit of a challenge. I’m such a creature of habits and schedules, consistency and patterns, but I found the spontaneity and impulsive decisions of vacation a refreshing change from my regular days at home. While we definitely had scheduled activities to see and do all we wanted to, we left copious amounts of free time to respond to the day, the weather, the mood, the desires of the family. We made many decisions while out and about, changing as we wanted to, turning left instead of right, going straight ahead instead of turning around, stopping instead going, even resting when we all needed a break. Sometimes we galloped, sometimes we trotted, and sometimes we meandered.
So squeezing myself back into a daily routine took some mental gymnastics to convince me that getting back into the groove of pre-vacation was something I really wanted to do. It took me several days to give up the leisurely mornings, the wide-open hours of the day, and the option to stay up late at night. I had a nagging feeling that something needed to change and took quite a bit of time to reflect on what was gnawing at me.
One thought continued to plant itself in my mind – the fact that I had not taken any of my “routine” materials with me – Bible, prayer journal, spiritual reading material – that I knew with the demands of a family gathering of 13, I would much more likely be found in the kitchen of our rentals than in a quiet spot spending time with the Lord. But what I did find was an ongoing, spontaneous desire to pray and be with God – no matter where I was. He just continued to meet me where I was and invited me into His presence when He saw I had a moment. I may have prayed more on our vacation on a spontaneous basis than I usually pray in my routine days – an eye-opener for me who relies on the clock.
So now I go, back into the Groove…or not? And I’m still pondering, because I know God is not limited by my schedule, which means I can’t limit his movement in my days – my heart and soul need to be open to his spontaneity, his direction, his movement. While having a structured scaffold on which to hang my day’s work, rest and activities is always helpful to me, I also need to hold it all very lightly, being totally open to God’s “holy interruptions” in my day. I need to embrace the spontaneity that brings me into fellowship with him, opens my eyes to the needs of those around me, and makes me a more effective disciple.
So that gnawing in me after vacation? It taught me that there’s room for both routine and spontaneity in my days. It taught me that the only place I want to be every minute of the day is walking in His ways, no matter how He comes to me. Where else would I want to be?
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