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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Does the busyness of your daily life make you feel like you should just get away? Perhaps it’s a weekend away with friends or with your spouse. You want to recharge from the anxiety you feel in the daily grind of work and home.
I wasn’t sure, but I had a hunch there would be articles about vacation anxiety. I was right. While the benefits of getting away include lowering stress, improving heart health, boosting creativity, strengthening relationships and keeping you healthy, it seems we need more rules of the road to take a good vacation these days.
Taking this time away can add anxiety—financial, the care of your children or pets, leaving projects at work, and countless others. The truth is none of the things that cause you daily anxiety will disappear. They will be there when you come back.
How can you incorporate the ultimate peace into your getaway, so it isn’t just a runaway from your daily stress and anxiety? You know what I mean. How can you include Jesus in this time? How can you draw closer to Jesus in faith?
Jesus is a proponent of getting away.
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6:31-32).
You know the feeling of coming and going—days of no leisure and nothing to eat! We have all had these days.
Knowing Jesus invited his disciples to recharge, you can be encouraged he wants this for you too. Be mindful of how you consider this time. It isn’t an escape, but it can be a time to rest and be in God’s Word. If you are spending the time to get away, make sure it is time spent reconnecting with your peace, Jesus.
The only real escape for us in this world is Jesus. Abiding with Christ can give us a foretaste of the glory we will have in heaven. We know in heaven Jesus has prepared a space for us, and the Father’s house has many rooms. One of the descriptors I love is in Revelation 4:6.
… in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal (Revelation 4:6).
If you have ever been near still and serene water, you will know why this is so striking. It feels so calm. I am in awe knowing heaven has a sea of glass that I can enjoy for eternity.