Is it just me or do you find it harder to connect with God while on holiday?

As someone who thrives on schedules, I enjoy time in the Word during my regular routine. But you know what happens on vacations? Or, more to the point, what doesn’t happen on vacations? Routine. That’s what.

Schedules and calendars melt faster than the gelato you bought at the beach town you’re vacationing in. Often, a melting schedule means my time with Jesus starts to slip.

So does that mean we need to get back to regular life to reconnect with God?

I’m writing this post while on vacation with my family. So here’s what I know from immediate and highly accurate empirical evidence (ahem). When you’re sharing a hotel room with your husband and kids, it’s impossible to find chunks of time for Bible study. But here’s what I also discovered: you can find pockets of “me” time even while you’re out with the family on a trip. And when we use those pockets of time to connect with God rather than connect to our devices, our vacations will be sweeter, richer, and more meaningful.

I’m not saying you should pull out concordances and commentaries while you’re in Cacun (Yeah, I might have just said Cancun because I love alliteration, but a girl can dream of all-inclusive white-sand Mexican beach vacations, right? ).

Instead, here’s something we can weave into our vacations.

Firstly, leave the “all or nothing” approach at home. You may not be able to read the Word and spend time in worship and do an in-depth study on Revelations and attend the fasting and prayer online session your church is organizing and … you get it. But maybe there’s one thing you can still do. For this trip, all I managed were spurts of Bible reading on my phone. And while that’s not ideal for “real life,” it helped keep my thoughts rooted in Scripture.

But while the whole shebang may not be possible, vacations are perfect for what I call “whispers of worship.” When you’re not sitting on the same ol’ couch, or driving the same ol’ routes, or buying the same ol’ groceries from the same ol’ stores, endorphins start doing their thing. You sense that rush of excitement when you see the ocean or that snow-capped mountain. And instead of pulling out your phone to take that picture of the sunset or the beach, use those moments to praise God. Whisper your worship to Him.

As you watch the orange, pink sun slip behind the dark silhouette of trees, praise God for being an Artist who paints the skies more exquisitely than you can imagine.

As you watch the kids splash each other with joyful abandon in the pool, praise God for being the One who created unfiltered laughter and bubbly giggles.

As you hear the sound of the crashing waves when you stand at the edge of the unending ocean, praise God for His amazing power and infinite awesomeness.

As you enter that ornate cathedral with candles flickering in the solemn darkness of the sanctuary, praise God for His perfect holiness and radical righteousness.

Friend, opportunities for worship abound if we still our hearts to notice them.

But as ideal as those moments are, let’s not get carried away here. When my kids were younger, vacations were actually kinda…I’m just going to go ahead and say it.. they were SUPER STRESSFUL. Every parent of toddlers knows the mile-long packing list, the travel nightmares involving too few diapers and too many throw-ups, the lack of sleep that creates monsters out of cherubs, and the melt-downs at the theme parks or worse still those solemn and ornate churches.

“Whispers of worship?” Really?! Maybe it’s more like pleas and petitions from panicked parents. Friend, guess what? It’s okay. Vacations don’t have to be perfect. Flawless, meltdown-free family trips are reserved for Instagram influencers. The rest of us muddle through it—and we’re secretly glad when it’s time to go home.

Friend, if you’re there, vacations in this season of your life may be about displaying God’s grace to your family.  Building memories for your family is not about the smiling pictures in pristine surroundings captured for social media. It’s about the loving environment you create so your home becomes the “happiest place on earth” for your littles.

So whisper your prayers for patience. Thank God for the toddler who sleeps in on vacation so you can get your morning jog in. Praise Him for the fact that you didn’t lose the plot when your child threw a tantrum. Praise Him for chicken nuggets that you didn’t have to cook. Maybe that’s how you get to connect with God on vacation this season of your life: you’re blessed to be a blessing to those closest to you.

Here’s the thing. We’re not created to be in vacation mode. Neither are we created for our homes alone. We are passing through. This is the practice run. And through this rehearsal called life may we connect with our Creator no matter where we are.

 

 

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