Beach Bummin'

There's still sand on the floorboard of my husband's car. It makes me smile as I remember the constant hopping in and out of the vehicle with sand-encrusted feet and flip-flops as we played on a South Carolina beach. The powder-blue plastic wristband still slides up and down my forearm...even though the hotel pools and hot tubs it granted me access to are now 650 miles away. And before the clothes were even unpacked from our suitcases, the complimentary photo of us eating at a calabash seafood restaurant was posted on the fridge, reminding me of endless smiles from the miles traveled on the vacation now ended. Let's just say I'm having a little trouble letting go of the week just past.

Maybe it's because I'm not supposed to. Oh, to be sure, there's no escaping the return to real life; work schedules and household chores demand my attention once more. Already I feel the encroachment of tension and worry into my subconscious, trying to wrestle my mind from the rest found in sunrises and sea breezes and attach it to the tasks waiting to be tackled. But God would tell me not to wipe the sea foam from my eyeglasses just yet.

There are purposes to vacations that are vastly more important than just getting away. We need more than just a break from our regular routines; we need a new outlook on life. Every getaway is really a chance to reset our thinking, refocus our eyes, and restart how we live our lives from this point forward. If we limit our vacations to just a few days of play we lose out on the lessons God meant to impart into our hearts.

Some groan at the thought of adding yet another task to what is supposed to be time off from the same. Thankfully life lessons abound in everything around us; capturing them as we walk out our days is a game as addicting as Pokemon Go, once we download the idea into our thinking processes and set off to see what we can find.

God makes it surprisingly easy. He told me he wanted me to lighten up, to shed some things that were weighing me down. It just took me a while to realize what they were.

The first day we were in Myrtle Beach I carried my sweatshirt with me everywhere we went as we walked first the beach and then the storefront sidewalks. Storm clouds littered the horizon; shouldn't I be ready for a sudden downpour? Restaurants that offer a respite from the heat often offer a seat right under an air conditioning vent; I didn't want to shiver as I shoveled in the food. Best to be prepared...or so I thought. Soon the bulky extra weight began to bother me, and when God asked me if I wasn't getting tired of caring that thing all around, I was finally ready to hang The Fear of What Might Happen on a hook in the hotel room. I didn't touch it the rest of the trip.

I love to get up early and walk a beach while the morning is still fresh, the sun just breaking through the clouds and the the water rushing to the shore to wave repeated greetings to me as I pass by. But on our first morning there I overdid it just a bit; the sun was still sleeping and the hotel coffee bar was still closed. No problem; I'd just hoof it half a mile to the Starbucks down the road and load up on coffee there. But I had only taken a few steps out the door when I became painfully aware of my situation. I was alone in the dark carrying a big purse that held all our vacation money and gift cards, as well as anything I might need to occupy myself with while my husband slept in. As it turned out, I did get robbed, emotionally, if not physically; the simple joy of the morning was stolen away because I was burdened by treasure I held in my hands instead of my heart. What did I really need to walk the beach? Just two legs, a cup of coffee and my phone tucked into a pocket. Later that morning I shoved The Fear of Lack into a dresser drawer and slammed it shut.

The last to go was probably the hardest. My husband wanted us to hit the pool deck; the two swimming pools, a circular moat filled with inner tube floats, and two hot tubs were calling his name. But to enjoy them meant to shed the clothing covering one's biggest source of insecurity; our perception of the way we look. We simply don't like to expose our flaws to public scrutiny. But one of the joys of traveling off-season is that all the beautiful bodies are usually back at work or school; everybody lounging in the pool area was likely as pale, fat and old as we were. On went the bathing suits and off we went. Once we hit the deck I realized that my fears were groundless. Nobody was “scrutinizing” anybody; they were too busy swimming, soaking or floating in the last of the summer sun; we simply joined in the fun. And at the end of a couple of hours of delightful play, I smiled as I threw our swimsuits over the bathroom shower rod, realizing with a smile I had hung my Fear of What Others Might Think out to dry, as well.

Souvenir shopping is always a part of my vacation fun, so I was surprised that I came away with just one – a key chain made of a colorful collection of starfish and shells. That bit of bling on a ring simply reminds me that the days ahead will be richer because of what I left behind.

“Therefore then...let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight)...”

Hebrews 12:1 AMP