A Vacation within a Vacation

I'm sitting on my in-laws' front deck listening to the wind in the trees, the wind chimes tinkle, and the grasshoppers....um, whatever noise a grasshopper makes. And I'm loving it. Not a person, except for family, in sight or earshot. Plain and simple- it's beautiful. And peaceful. And quiet.

But you know what? It smells different than home. The wind sounds different than what it sounds like at home. And I wonder. I wonder if I enjoy home as much as I enjoy my in-laws deck. Do I appreciate the sounds, smells, and views at the home of my heart as much as I do here. If I don't, why not?

I've been giving this some thought. What I've come up with is that, yes, I do appreciate it as much at home as I do on vacation. It does become something that can be taken for granted, but for as much as I love my in-laws deck, I truly, deeply, passionately love the area we call home. I love the lay of land, the variety of trees, the whisper of the breeze, and the scents and sounds of home.

I think that getting away from the everyday normal is a good thing every once in a while. I think that it's necessary for personal, spiritual, mental, and emotional development to see new things, try new foods, meet new people, and acclimate to new areas. I think that there is something to be said for learning the roads in a new town or going to a totally random church. To hear a different language spoken at the grocery store or find a regional ice cream that you love. To go to bed and get up with the sun instead of an alarm clock. To really spend time alone, but not lonely, and get to know better that quiet whisper that prompts your soul.

Vacation is a good thing. Getting away is a good thing. But going home? It's even better....

I've Been Interrupted.

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker has me, well, stuck.

My mind is stuck. My heart is stuck. My thought process is stuck. My actions are stuck. I'm basically hub-deep in my own mire right now. And I've really only digested Chapters 1 and 2. Someone send me a tow line please.

Phase One: Breaking Down, page 7, was my first spin out in the mire. And I started sinking from there: "Why did I spend all my time blessing blessed people who should be on the giving side of the equation by now?" 

I totally do that. Lord, help me.

I read that sentence a week ago and I still seem to ponder it in my heart daily, if not hourly. Why? Is there something to it that I can't see yet? Is there something to it that I don't want to see? I'm going with the latter.

I've come up with some pretty human answers to the question she posed

• It's easier
• It's safer

Um...yeah, that's all I got. I told you I was stuck. And herein lies my stuck-ness: How do I change it?  How do I go beyond what the world and the flesh think of as doing good and get into what God wants from me? 

So what I discovered is that this is best and only answered by God Himself. In His Word. By His Word. And His Word says that I am to do for 'the least of these.' Not 'the blessed of these,' not 'the Christian of these,' not' the religious of these', not 'the ones who can give back when I need it of these.'  

The least of these. 

Just who are 'the least of these' anyway? I have a feeling that my list will be long but not exhaustive. And in it will be the ones who my God will be asking me to help. To serve. To bless. And because He wants it, I will do it.

I know that in following Him I will become unstuck. But more than that, I will be.

Care to join me in serving 'the least of these?'