Designed to Refresh

A Much-Needed Time Away

We recently returned from our annual week at the beach vacation.

Freedom from Obligations

The word vacation comes from the Latin word vacatio, which means freedom, release, or being free from an obligation.

That’s how we enjoy our time at the beach. It is a time to relax, reflect and rewind the state of our life’s activity. The week before we tie up loose ends at work, plan what we will take from home and start the process of “untying” ourselves from responsibilities and obligations for a week.

God’s Creation Points Us Back to Him

One of the best parts of vacationing “by the sea” is that it is designed to make you aware of nature, the beauty in simple sights and a grand reminder that God alone holds it all together.

Psalm 148:1–5: “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above… Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created”.

The Beauty of the Ever-Changing Shoreline

We go to the same beach, the same resort and even the same suite each year. While much stays the same, many things are new and changing by the sea. Our first walk on the beach provides that first look of what our week will be. The beach landscape changes each year with the coming and going of tides, storms and the passing of time. The shells on the beach change year to year and season to season. Some years they are tiny and white, other years like this year they feature bright reds, oranges and browns intermingled with almost translucent white. The seaweed comes and goes year to year, the rhythm of the current brings waves tumbling upon the shore, or this year, a glasslike surface to float upon. The water is clear enough to count your toes.

The Daily Miracle of Sunset

Each evening the sunset is the crescendo of the day. Hundreds of people, strangers to one another, gather by the sea and wait. Waiting in quiet conversation then utter silence as the sun begins its visible motion towards the horizon. Second by second the sky changes, colors appear and patterns mingled with the clouds announcing the end of this day and the beginning of night. People are spread out and each one gets a view of the magnificent changing sky.

As the sun of the day disappears into the horizon, we stand. Quiet, reflective and in awe of how “God paints the sky” on this night for us. Eventually groups break up and we head back to our resort rooms or walk along the now moonlit shoreline.

Moments of Wonder and Reflection

This time of vacation brings moments like this each day. Of peace, of wonder, of reflection on truths that God places in our lives to enjoy and grow from.

Appreciating God’s Grand Design

The conversations after a day by the sea include the wonders of creation, the details of how God places each part and piece in the grand design. How scripture tells of the things we see with our eyes. How the tide rolls in just so far and no further. The elaborate designs of shells and rocks and underwater fields of coral. The sounds of the water, the birds that fly in and out of view. What a time to genuinely appreciate the creation God intends for us to enjoy.

Why Rest Matters

When we return from our vacation, people will often ask us, “What did you do?”

Our reply is always the same…. We enjoyed our time by the sea, appreciating the sights and sounds of creation and the break from obligation and responsibility. We again marveled at the vast creation that God has provided in the everchanging landscape of the sea.

To some that seems boring and unproductive. But to us it is a must to be able to return refreshed to once again pick up on our responsibilities and obligations. It is life giving and designed by God for us to step away to be able to step back in.

Stepping Away to Step Back In

Ministry life is demanding and full of responsibilities and obligations. Schedules full and calendars crammed. But God provides these times we must take, whether it is beachside, a hike in the woods, a walk in the park or a quiet moment on a bench in our neighborhoods.

Created for Work and Rest

As fall is upon us and the demands of a busy ministry season take hold of our calendars, take time to marvel at the quiet world of creation. A sunrise, a sunset, a waterfall or even a puddle created by an afternoon rain shower.

God created us for work and for rest. Make sure you are fulfilling both. Our life designed by God is perfectly balanced. Participate in that by stepping away and honoring Gods design for our lives.

Patti Johnson

• designed to refresh

• God’s design for rest

• spiritual refreshment

• rest and renewal

• time in God’s creation

• ministry rest

• biblical rest

• God created us for work and rest

• finding peace in God’s creation

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