Vacation

There is something about getting away from the everyday issues we face that helps to replenish the mind, body, soul, and spirit. While vacations are not a big part of my childhood memories, family times are. Those occasions when the aunts, uncles, and cousins got together at grandma and grandpa's house, or any other location, the normal activities of life were suspended with new and different excitement and activities becoming the experience of the day.

The older I become, the more I am aware of the importance of memories. The memories I have as a child, both good and bad, are part of what makes me the person I am today. Making memories for those who are younger, both my children and now my grandchildren has escalated in importance like I cannot believe. There is something deep within me that wants to pass on to the younger generation experiences and activities that I hope and pray will last a lifetime and will form them into better people as a result.

Vacation this week is not just about me getting away from the normal activities of my role as district superintendent. It is an opportunity to invest myself, in very personal ways, in the lives of the precious people God has entrusted to my care. Someday, they will have to make their own major decisions that will effect the rest of their lives (calling, vocation, marriage, etc.) but this week will be a week of influence. Not a time to pressure them toward anything. Just a week to hang out, spend time together, play together, laugh together, eat together, and become more of what we were created to be by the God who loves us so very much.

I pray this will be a great week.