Take God with You on Vacation
Vacations are a wonderful way to take a break from our regular routine, get a change of scenery, and spend time with our families. In that breaking of our routine, however, it can be difficult to figure out how to keep our walks with God fresh. If we’re used to spending time with God in the morning when we’re at home, for example, that can be difficult to do when we’re in a hotel room with our family members. It may not work to sit down with a cup of coffee first thing at the kitchen table to read the Bible and pray.
Frequently on vacations, I haven’t made any special plans for what spending time with God will look like. But if a vacation is supposed to be restful and recharging, it would really make sense to consider ahead of time how we will recharge spiritually as well.
Here are some ideas to try:
As you are driving or flying and seeing new places, allow it to lead you in worship of God for His creation. Look for Him in the beauty and wonder of new places and beautiful scenery.
Take advantage of nuggets of down time to pray, read Scripture, or journal. For example, I’m not a huge “play in the pool” fan, but I will go down to the hotel pool with my family and hang out at one of the tables and journal or read the Bible. It’s not always the quietest place, though!
Since vacations are all about changing up our routine, go with that! Maybe try a different spiritual discipline that you haven’t tried before, or read a different portion of Scripture.
Rely on God for His provision. When we’re in our regular routine, it’s easy to go through the day without seeking God for things like a good place to eat or a clean hotel. Being in an unfamiliar environment is an opportunity to seek God and rely on Him to provide restaurants, hotels, destinations, a well timed pit stop location, etc.
Ask God to lead you to people who are open to hearing about having a personal relationship with God. Look for ways to be a witness to those you come across. In general, I think building a relationship with someone and sharing your faith that way tends to be more effective and less awkward. But, Gospel “tracts” or pamphlets explaining the gospel can be a useful and even natural way to tell someone about Jesus when you know you will only have a brief time with them. Here’s an example.
What ideas do you have? How can you make your vacation not only a time of physical rest and refreshing, but also a spiritual one?