Vacation is good!

What a great time we had on vacation.  We were able to spend some time with great friends and family.  It was the first time I had taken two Sundays in a row off and even though we were only gone ten days when we returned it felt like I had been gone forever.  We even survived a week with the sister-in-law and her 6 month old son!  He actually is a great baby and uncle's don't have to change diapers so all was grand.  Vacations are something that I think all of us need and probably don't get enough of.
One of the best things about vacations is they let you get away from the normal hectic routine of life and offer a chance to recharge and reset a little bit.  I don't think I knew how much I needed to get away and recharge until after I got back home and felt relaxed and rejuvenated.  Sometimes when you're in the rat race of life you don't realize the need to step back and step away for awhile until you get a chance to and enjoy it so much.  I know it's not realistic to be able to take multiple day vacations very often during the year, unless you're a pastor and only work one day a week, but I think it is vital to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being to get away and break the routine once in awhile.
Even if we can't take days off we still need to find time to feed our souls and regenerate our batteries if you will.  How each of us goes about doing that is different for each person.  Hopefully all of us know what feeds us and what recharges our soul.  Whether it be reading a good book, watching silly TV shows, playing catch with the kids, having coffee with friends, meditating, praying or whatever, we need to be diligent about carving out space to enjoy those times.  Sometimes we get so busy with life that our blinders are on and all we can think about is keeping our head above water and getting to the next task.  Well, if you're anything like me when that happens for very long you aren't a very nice person to be around.  When I neglect to take care of myself I find myself being grumpy and a general stick in the mud.  When that happens I need to find time to break the routine even if it is for only 15 or 30 minutes.  I know I need to recharge or my family is going to tie me up for awhile.
I get into trouble because I tend to think that making time for myself is selfish.  I tend to think that I should be all about others and that any time I spend only on myself is taking away from others.  Well, there has to be a balance.  Yes we can't be all about ourselves, but we won't do anyone much good if we run ourselves raged trying to be all things for all people.  Taking time to slow down, recharge, rejuvenate, and take a vacation is not selfish.  In fact I'd say it is vital to our well being.  By taking care of ourselves we are better able to take care of others around us.  So I challenge you to find time to break the routine, get away even if it's 30 minutes locked in your bathroom reading a favorite book, so you can nourish your soul  and keep from being run silly in the rat race of life.