You know that feeling when you get back from a long vacation feeling exhausted, and all you really want is a second vacation to recover from the first one? There should be a word for that. Someone get to work on that and let me know what we’re calling it.
Arizona was great! The kids hiked and climbed like champs (mostly), we experienced warm sunshine and hailstorms, tracked down the world’s finest ice cream, ate dinner on the rim of the Grand Canyon, and got our feet wet crossing icy creeks. We traveled all over the state and saw deserts, forests, mountains, burned out volcanoes, mesas, and plains. It was an incredible trip.
We love being able to get out and see different parts of the world. Standing on top of a gigantic rock jutting out of the dirt and sand, and looking out over the beauty of our creative, artistic God never gets old. Despite being a small dot on a canyon rim, God sees me, knows me, and loves me. Getting out into new places and spaces helps me to turn my eyes away from myself and out into the world God’s made for us. Instead of looking in, I can look up, and delight in the gifts (big and small) that he’s sent my way.
While we had a blast, I came back whooped from all the hiking and the delayed flight home. Getting home at 2:30am is a young man’s game. The post-return weekend was also busy, and the kids were out of school again on Monday (for the eclipse?). My sleep schedule is jacked up, and the hour I’m typing is the first time I’ve seen the sun instead of rain since Monday. All that to say, it’s been quite a week of adjusting back to our regularly scheduled programming with school, carpools, baseball, church, homework, and all the rest.
Trey, it sounds an awful lot like you’re complaining about taking a vacation. Maybe, but I hope not. I’m extremely thankful to be able to get away with our family. But I also don’t think I’m the only one to come back from a family vacation exhausted and struggling to hang on as I parent, serve my wife, keep up with work, stay on top of chores, etc. I know the exhaustion has made it difficult to be a good dad, to keep my anger in check, and to follow through on commitments I’ve made. It’s in these moments that we ask for grace, from God and those around us, to cover our failures.
Many of you likely find yourself coming back from spring break, or maybe you’re heading out of town this weekend or later this summer. While I have no authority over you, I want to give you permission to be tired, cranky, absent-minded, or whatever else you may be when you unload your suitcases. None of us are perfect. Thankfully, we don’t have to be. Jesus was perfect for us, and offers us grace and forgiveness in our triumphs and our failures. Lean into him as you come back to reality and step back into your normal rhythms of life one again.
Hospitable Ministry (Kids Min)
“From sticky-handed preschoolers to hyperactively-awkward fourth graders, the way a kids team interacts with kids (and their parents) can be the linchpin that convinces new families to return…or chases them away forever.” Danny Franks is doing a series on his blog called Hospitable Culture. This week he spoke to the kids director at his church about what they’re doing to build a culture that welcomes kids and families into the Sunday morning experience. There are lots of helpful bits of wisdom, planning, and execution for you and your volunteer team to consider.
Teenage Gifts (Parenting)
“In addition to both experiencing significant physical change, teens and middle aged adults sit at an inflection point for their futures, with all the attendant anxieties and woes.” Here’s a great piece from Joey Goodall on how teens and middle aged parents have more in common than they might think. He reflects on work from Eugene Peterson, and talks about how teenagers are a gift that can shock us out of the banality of what middle age often brings (career stagnation, life change, aging bodies, etc.). Our oldest is still technically a pre-teen, but this definitely got my wheels turning as we’re wrapping up year one of middle school and stepping into a new era of parenting.
Tracking Daughters
Here’s a hilarious little story of a dad playing detective and piecing together what happened when his daughter left for school on a snowy morning. What’s with kids and their stubborn refusal to wear pants, coats, shoes, etc. when it’s freezing cold and snowing???