Two years ago, my husband and traveled to Estes Park, Colorado. This summer we went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. So, which vacation is more Sabbath-y? Well, it’s a tale of two trips.
In Colorado, I’m energized. I’m up at dawn to pray, then off to experience God’s creation through hiking boots. The resort where we stay has almost-daily chapel services where we can worship with believers from around the world. Mountaintop vistas put me in a thrilling state of awe. It might not be restful, but for me, it is renewing.
This trip to the Mexican Riviera was the inverse. Sleep in. Eat breakfast. Lounge on the beach. Eat lunch. Play in the water. Nap. Eat dinner. Walk on the beach. Sleep. I never once cracked open my Bible, and our resort offered nothing more spiritual than tequila. There was nothing to do but rest.
Yet even I left renewed. Watching the waves ebb and flow was meditative. The last two years since that Colorado trip, have been hard — filled with so much cancer in the family I can hardly breathe. In the Caribbean, I truly cast my burdens upon the Lord. I felt a solace in the waves I’ve never felt in the mountains.
So, which is the more spiritual vacation? The only answer that comes to mind is a song by the late Rich Mullins, “Everywhere I Go I See You.” He is in the mountains! He is in the ocean! He is in my humble abode, somewhere in between the two.
