Vacation!

For the last 2 weeks Paul and I have been on vacation which would explain the lack of a recent blog post.  This is the first vacation we have had in several years, with the exception of our son's wedding in Colorado. We had been trying to plan a time away for quite sometime, but illness usually prevented us from traveling. We were trying to get to Nashville to visit our son and daughter in law. Every time Paul could get time off that worked with our son's schedule I was too ill to travel. I was determined this time to go. We were planning this for several months.
As you may recall recently I was battling the side effects of some treatment for the leukemia. As recent as a month ago. Have you ever wanted something so badly that it was all you could think about. Oh my goodness, I prayed and prayed, I wanted to be able to visit our son and daughter and law. I did not want illness to once again ruin our plans.
This time seemed different though. When I was praying I found myself asking God to keep the doors open for our vacation, but then I would move on to the Word of God, and asking the Holy Spirit what I should focus on. It was no longer just about our vacation. It was no longer about what I wanted, or about my illness. I had a total peace about what was to be, and God's will. I truly felt in my heart that God had this under control and He would direct our paths and pave our way.
As I have written before, I try to live my life as a "woman of faith", trusting and believing God for my every move and His protection over me. So actually this may seem odd that I am writing about struggling or fretting about vacation. Or perhaps about my focus being on something that I want to take place. I will be honest with you, I did struggle with the feeling of being a hypocrite. I did not want to interfere in any way with God's plan for us.
It was then when God placed that peace in my heart. I had that feeling in my spirit that God had this under control. It was then that I could let go and let God.
The days before we were to leave I had horrible pain in my leg and hip area. I could hardly walk, sit, stand, or lay. It was very severe pain from the nerve damage. But I was determined. My husband laid hands on me and prayed over me several times. We had 2 days of travel ahead of us in the car.
It came time to leave. We started out in the morning. I was in a great deal of pain. But we looked ahead and had such excitement for what God had for us on this vacation. The first day we had a goal of how far to get. About 500 miles. The roads were hectic from the moment we left. We continued to pray God's protection over us.
Our travel that day ended up being over 600 miles. It turns out there was an Indy car race in the area and also a bicycle race in the area. Hotels were booked for miles. Once again we prayed for the Lord to open up a place for us for the night. The place we found was reasonable and very clean and comfortable. That was a big thank you. By this time I was walking a little better. Wow, after so many hours in the car, I was doing a little better.
The next morning we headed out, first praying. At one point we sat at a complete stop on the major highway in Ohio. Cars lined up as far as we could see. A tractor-trailer overturned a few miles down the road. They were waiting for a crane to come to remove it. We turned the car off to conserve gas. It was close to 100 degrees out. Then my husband said "what would Jesus do during this time". He then took several bottles of water we had in the car and he walked up and down the road to pass them out. People were so grateful for that water.  We then saw one of the plans God had for us, to offer some help or relief to others.
We continued on down the road to our first destination, Kentucky to visit friends. That is a beautiful state. When we arrived our spirits felt an immediate feeling of being in a sanctuary. We were totally convinced God had a plan for us on this vacation. Our friends opened their home to us and were so gracious and loving. And I had two more praying for me. I would sit on the porch, surrounded by hummingbirds, flowers, and more birds. Oh my, my heart was content. We spent a few days with our friends. It was wonderful. By the time we left my leg was feeling almost normal. I was able to walk around on the property with minimal difficulty.
Then we had about 2 hours in the car to get to our son and daughter in law's in Nashville. We arrived at our rental, once again God did not disappoint. A very clean, comfortable townhouse for us to stay in. And the best of all, a hug from our son and daughter in law. We had the best time with them. Matthew drove us to see all of the "tourists" sights downtown. Melissa took me for a pedicure.  And are you ready for this, this was my first! Yes you read that right, my first. Oh my, that was amazing.
We had a wonderful time with them. And of course we hated to leave.
When we were getting ready to leave I realized, my leg did not hurt at all.  It was completely gone.
You may be wondering at this point what I am trying to say in this blog.
The point I want to make is we all need a VACATION. A real vacation that takes us away from the daily grind. One that lets us act like tourists. We can eat and not feel like we over did it. You can sit and do absolutely nothing if you feel like it.
God has vacation in His master plan for us. I truly believe that. We all need a rest. We all need a "sanctuary" to go to. And not feel guilty about it. Yes, we must plan and prepare as much as possible for a vacation, but that  is a whole different conversation.
One point I'd like to make however, just because we were on vacation, we in no way felt as though God was not going to use us. As you recall, there were those in need of some water to drink. We had plenty and shared it. That is God using us in a time when others had a need. We did not take a vacation "from God".
So I will finish by saying a vacation is a good thing and can be truly part of God's plan. He met my needs during that time. He met my husband's needs during that time. And He met others needs. He gave us a truly restful time away. He gave us time with our son and daughter in law.
I encourage you, even if you cannot travel, take the time off that you are able to, sit back, relax, and forget the "to-do" list. It will be there when you get back.