Vacation Count Down

Two days until vacation, hooray!  I always find that the closer I am to a vacation, the more I need it.  And, this is no exception.  With all the events of the last few months, especially as today is marking the one month of my grandpa’s death, this has been quite the summer.  But, now fall is here.  Fall, with it’s beautiful leaves and cooler temperatures.  And soon, it will find me in the mountains with snow, pine trees with that scent that strikes my nose as so clean and pure, and of course on the look-out for buffalo and moose. 

Vacation, such a wonderful concept, like a longer version of a Sabbath of sorts.  Sunday afternoons nearly always find someone in the house taking a nap.  I am not really much of a nap taker, as much as I may wish I was at times.  Often, I find myself far groggier after a nap than not.  With that said, I still am a firm believer in the need to recharge, to rest and recover ourselves after such busy schedules.  An article came across my desk not too long ago, stating that it really takes two weeks in our busy lives to truly disconnect, let ourselves relax, and then be able to go back to the work environment. 

So I will pack my bags, which are still in the basement waiting for the actual packing, charge the camera and head out the door.  I am looking for buffalo with snow dusted coats, the sound of elk in the dusk, the feel of Jenny Lake on my fingers, and the sound of wild horses running through the plains.  I am looking for a time to relax, breaking away from the daily pace of life.  I am looking for the site of the Milky Way spilled across the night sky in a moment that completely takes my breath.  I am looking for the quiet that only exists in groves of pine trees. 

And in the quiet… in the quiet I am reminded of a different time and a different need for quiet.  I am reminded of sitting in a sanctuary, soaking in words of grace.  The grace of Jesus, the grace that is much more inspiring and beautiful than even that spill of stars, just sitting in the quiet and soaking it in.  I am counting down to a time of sanctuary, of Sabbath, of finding the quiet in the trees, the song in the leaves, the rhythm of the tides, the percussion of the running hooves.