My recent vacation was a gift in every way.  Seeing our oldest daughter in her world was a gift.  Being in the places I travel for work, without working (and without snow), was a gift.  Receiving the vacation as a gift from the church I lead was deeply encouraging.  Enjoying fellowship with close friends who live in Europe was a gift.  And, significantly, there was the gift of a lesson learned….

We live in a world of objectives where success is defined, often, by “how much”:  How much work can you get done on your shift?  How many pages did you write today?  How many sales contacts did you make? How many things did you check off your bucket list this year? I set my week up by naming the roles of my life (teacher/writer – leader/visionary – shepherd – family – personal well being) and filling each of those boxes with goals that will move me forward in my life calling.  That way, it’s rare for me to find myself sitting around saying, “what should I do today?” I just look at the list, and BOOM!  I’m off to do something.

I took this mindset into my vacation.  Bike through vineyards in France.  Hike from hut to hut to hut in the Alps.  Climb in the Dachstein on a Klettersteig.  Paraglide on the last day with my friend.  There – that ought to maximize my time in Europe!

Well, things didn’t exactly work out that way.  Instead of biking through vineyards in France, how about cornfields in Germany?  Klettersteig day?  Rainning.  Not possible.  We spent the rainy day sleeping in, wandering shops, visiting friends, reading, and taking our daughter out for supper.  Paragliding?  Again, it was raining and too cold, so we enjoyed a day hike to a hut, where we drank cocoa and bonded with mountain sheep.

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