Christian Counseling - Taking Time to Relax

As I write this, I am sitting in sunny, warm, Florida. Well, it is sunny and Florida, so I guess two out of three isn't bad. I came on this vacation with a plan (as i often do). I brought books that I wanted to read and thought of things that I wanted to see and do. How much have I done that was on my list? Some, but, certainly, not all. Am I ok with the change in plans? The answer is a certain yes.

It is always interesting to me that as I make my plans, I do not plan for the most satisfying parts of a vacation. For me, these include: lingering over a wonderful dinner, sharing new and old stories while staying up late, laughing with the people I love the most, and sharing new memories with my wife and children. In the end it won't much matter what I did on vacation. What will matter is who was with me on vacation.

Isn't that how it always is for many of us? We spend most of our time thinking about projects rather than people. Yet, the significant relationships we have breathe life into us and often give meaning to our lives. Many of you are in the same place in this life as me with parents getting older and caring for and enjoying young children. Remember, this time will never come our way again. Yes, there are problems that we are dealing with in our country, our church, and our careers. Ten years from now, we will likely still have issues that we will be dealing with, for that is the stuff of life. Not that we should ignore the issues as insignificant. However, we need to enjoy and invest in the people in our lives with the same vigor we invest in dealing with life's issues. As Burt Lancaster said in Field of Dreams, "We don't recognize the most significant events in our lives until they've passed." Ask God for eyes to recognize the significant relationships in your life today, and then seek to be deliberate in enjoying them.

Which, by the way, is what I plan to do right now...