I love to travel. Growing up, our family didn’t have a ton of money leftover in the budget for traveling, but my mom’s cousin and her husband had a condo in Colorado that they let us use. It allowed us to make memories and see mountains and experience being “away”. Those trips created in me a desire to see the world from a young age and it’s only grown stronger as I get older.
My husband and I have made it a priority to take our family on vacations. We cherish those times when we are able to step out of the daily grind and away from the to-do lists and focus on one another, our kids, and ourselves.
Scheduling vacation time has proven tricky for us though. Summer is his busy time at work so summer break is out of the question. We have found fall to be a good time for us, specifically the week of Thanksgiving. The kids are already out of school for part of the time so there’s less homework to do and that’s a huge bonus! So for the last few years, we have celebrated turkey day at the beach.
As much as we love our time away, there’s an added perk of travel time that is often overlooked: the anticipation of it. It’s delicious to dream of getting away. During a particularly crummy day, or week, we can pull out the calendar and count the days until we get a break. “Only 32 days until vacation” one of us will text the other. Or “we will be at the beach in less that 3 weeks!” It makes the drudgery of daily life more bearable knowing that there is a vacation on the horizon.
Having something to look forward to is a game changer, isn’t it?
Yes, I love to travel. But it isn’t perfect. Our travel always includes lots of time in the car, with that comes arguments and farts and more arguing over who farted. It includes SO MUCH LAUNDRY and the inevitable catching up when we get home. It includes being out of our routine and eating bad (but delicious) food and not always sleeping well and sometimes having an upset stomach. Is it worth it? Absolutely!! But it’s not perfect.
Having heaven to look forward to is the real game changer. It will be perfect. No arguing or tears or laundry. If we do have food there (who knows, really) I suspect it won’t give us indigestion. It’s the ultimate dream to look forward to. It is HOPE when life is hard, and man, life has been hard this year!
I’m thankful for travel and vacation and time away. I am thankful for the reality of it as well as the anticipation of it. Above all, I am thankful for the ultimate hope of an eternity in heaven. The anticipation of that is a true gift from God. He could have just saved it as an incredible surprise at the end of our lives, but I suspect He knew what a treasure that HOPE would be for us!!
By Abbie Mabary
About Abbie: I’m adept at few things. Among my short list of achievements: sticking my foot in my mouth, singing the wrong lyrics, and jumping head first into something without really knowing what I’m getting into. Some might view that last feat as foolish but I’ve found it to be my biggest faith booster. As a recovering control freak, it takes some serious trust for me to wade into unknown waters. And when I’m out there in the middle of the waves and God meets me? Well, it only encourages me to keep taking leaps of faith. You can follow more of her words at allmomdoes.com
