I think coming back from a tropical vacation may very well be one of the hardest things to do. Especially, in late winter. Especially when it was a vacation without kids. (Quite honestly, I don't understand people who call traveling with kids a vacation. No, it is not. It might be an "adventure"...it might be a "trip" but a vacation, it is not.) My husband and I spent 6 glorious, sun-filled (mostly) days exploring the big island of Hawaii. We swam with sea turtles, zip-lined, explored lava flows and watched amazing sunsets. Oh, and we laid around like beach bums... a little bit. The biggest epiphany in our six days is that we really suck at relaxing. I mean...we REALLY need to work at it.
So if you are like me, returning from a vacation flows about as smoothly as a rocket re-entering the atmosphere. It's awkward, it's shaky...it's with brute force and it's not pretty. You return to your daily routines as if vacation was on some other time continuum that sucked you into its vortex and then spit you back out like a whale who accidentally mistaken you for krill. Back to laundry, meal preparation, homework to be monitored, music practice, carpools, finding lost homework, baseball caps and athletic supporters; reminders to brush teeth, floss teeth, wash hands, wipe bums and for Goodness's sake, get your finger out of your nose!
Quite honestly, I didn't realize how much I did to ensure that this house runs on all four wheels until I returned. And while I wouldn't trade the season I am in, in just 3 days back from vacation I am wiped out. I mean, hit the pillow and hear me snore, wiped out.
How does that happen? I don't care if you are a high-flying executive carrying $100 bills in your wallet or if you are a coupon-clippin', play-date organizing mom.. returning back from a vacation throws us into the deep end of the pool. I scratched my head at all the people who visited Hawaii and simply never returned...happy to wander the streets of Kona and conduct...shall we say.... "agricultural crops that could be used for medicinal purposes" transactions? I don't get the selling weed part...but I certainly can see the allure of living at 25 miles and hour instead of the 74 (so we don't get a speeding ticket) that we seem to pace ourselves at. Daily life, my friends...is a life-long race...yet we run it at a sprint.
You don't have to be Usain Bolt to know you can't sprint a long distance race... you have to slow down...and rely on your resources. Long distance runners need a few things to help the finish a race:
-Water
-Supplements
-A crowd of supporters cheering them on
Long distance runners know that they cannot persevere and come out victorious if they work "solo mio." (Taken from the movie Cars.... Lightning McQueen worked by himself without a pit crew and it cost him the race...he blew out tires.... C'mon... you know you've all seen it!)
So often, we are like Lightning McQueen...aren't we? "No, I can do this...I'm fine." "No, really, I got this." "Oh, thank you for offering but we're fine." Look at us...we're basically knocking over the water station tables, passing up the supplement gels when the going gets tough and plugging our ears at the cheering crowds! How isolating. How depressing. How easy to get sucked into a "woe is me, I must run this course alone."
No we don't. That's junk talking. Pride. Pity. Doesn't really matter how we label it in our 5 minutes together... you can go back and do a heart check later to determine why you refuse the help. For now, I'll give you three tools for running your race of life:
-water
-supplements
-A crowd of supporters cheering you on
Since I am someone who likes to cross stuff off my list, allow me to help you unpack these items for a better understanding:
1. WATER: The living water is the word of God. It's the Bible...and let me rock your world with this: it's full of inspiration, truth, knowledge and any other nugget of a word you need to get motivated enough to open it up. Try not to start in the chapters titled "Numbers" or "Leviticus"....that's like venturing off breaded pork chops and trying a bowl full of KimChee. Instead.... read Hebrews, Corinthians, Romans.... and give yourself a boost of encouragement!
2. SUPPLEMENTS: Is answered prayer....it supplies us with what we need. Yet we have not because we ask not. My friends, God wants to bless you over and over and over again.... he is in love with you! When our child asks for a hug, do we deny them? Of course not; we pick them up in our arms and hold them, never wanting to let go....and that is exactly how it is with our Heavenly Father. You don't need to have some "religious dictionary" and say all these big puffy words that make you sound like you went to church your whole life. Just talk to the Man.... what are you feeling? What could you really use right now? Start with that... He loves to give good things to those who love him. (My translation of Matthew 7:11)
3. SUPPORTERS: You already have a crowd of supporters and fans!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Your support team is the millions of people who already have a relationship with Jesus....they are like one big extended family (God help the family reunion....some seriously bad t-shirts headed our way, right?) In all seriousness, people who share the commonality of Jesus are a huge network that is cheering you along. They have your back. And so does Jesus. Don't be afraid to refuse help...its sometimes God's way of answering your prayers. Email a friend...text a friend.... grab coffee or gather your kids at a park with another compadre....but don't do life by yourself!!!
So even as I sat this morning and grumbled at my children for not appreciating my short-order cook efforts, separated the older two for squabbling and picked Playdoh out of the carpet... I was reminded of the fact that I tend to try and race by myself....solo mio. No wonder I am burnt out after 72 hours of being back from vacation. The only way to avoid it is to run our race of endurance with water, supplements and supporters (not the athletic kind.)
Oh friends, I hope you have enjoyed my "on paper processing" as I go through everyday life situations. May this post be like a new pair of running shoes to help you run your race with success!
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