This week has been one adventure after another. We've ridden roller coasters, seen awesome shows, met people from all over the world, walked about a hundred miles, gotten a bit lost and confused, and made some memories....but none of it compares to coming home.
We spent almost a full week in Florida on a family vacation. I always look forward to these since this is the one time it's just the four of us together with no real distractions...except that now the kids have cell phones they are constantly texting friends during the trip....but at least they are with us in body. There was always something interesting to do or see, but no sight we saw compared to the beautiful green countryside we saw as we drew closer and closer to home. When we finally pulled back into our driveway, I really relaxed for the first time in almost a week.
Mind you, I thought I was relaxed a few times on the trip. Sitting out by the pool and reading a book was great! Sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee seemed grand...but it just wasn't the same as home. It's sort of like that popular song by Chris Daughtry, "I'm going to the place where love and feeling good don't ever cost a thing.......I'm going home, back to the place where I belong, where your love has always been enough for me." Home is where I know I belong.
Maybe that's it....the rest that my vacation offered came with a "price".... isn't that just like the world. I could have all the adventure I could stand; a multitude of pleasures awaited me; entertainment was all around me; I could have it all....for a price. But when I came home, here I knew the price had already been paid. It might not be nearly as exciting, but here there was something that the vacation couldn't really offer - rest.
This year, my children also found a new diversion...the arcades. As I watched my children play in the "arcades" and saw that growing discontent of never being satisfied. They always wanted to try one more game and win one more prize. I also observed as some of those who had "won" at these same games then tried to lug a huge stuffed animal all around the hot park for the rest of the day. I have to wonder just what they will do with that toy when they get home. It became a burden to them while they were there and will probably become another one when they get home. Yes, lots of momentary satisfaction, but no rest....and all came with a cost.
We, (well, my children), rode every roller coaster they could find, sometimes waiting almost an hour for their chance to ride. After a while, one of them even commented that they didn't want to ride one of the coasters they had ridden over and over because now it was "boring." It no longer held the thrill it once had.
I know we had fun, but at the end of each day I could see the exhaustion written on my family's faces - usually in a cranky attitude. We needed rest...real rest. It was time to come home.
A lot of people spend their whole lives looking for rest. They try the adventures, the luxuries, and the entertainment....yet they are never quite satisfied. This world will offer you a lot of things, but all these come with a cost. In contrast, the cost for rest and peace have already been paid. It's time to come home...to the place where you belong...where the price has already been paid on Calvary. Funny thing is, along with the rest comes the adventure of a life time...nothing else can even compare.
No comments:
Post a Comment