Vacation Day 7

July 5, 2012


“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives all your iniquities. Who heals all your diseases.

Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”

Psalms 103:1-5

Vacations can be a time to renew, refresh, recharge and rest our bodies, our minds and our souls. This vacation has surely been different in many ways. I know God moves in mysterious ways, but he woke me up with the realization of the blessings in my life, the things we take for granted.

Far too long I took the things of this world for granted. A mere flip of a switch for electric to light a room, turn on a fan and keep food either hot or cold. We don’t realize this until we lose it; we drown ourselves in the world of technology and seldom see or hear the beauty that surrounds us. I am for one so guilty of this. I busy myself with TV and do not enjoy it, I play on my games on my phone when I could be reading, and I turn on sound to drown out thoughts. Those things are just on the top of my head.

However, God knows what we need even if it makes us uncomfortable. He wakes us up to the blessings he supplies and I never give thanks far often enough. Please forgive me O’ Lord.

We slept like babies last night with the fans cooling us off, I even found myself reaching for a sheet to cover myself as the cooler air hit. Sigh…..heaven.

In the early hours we rise, thankful the electric is still on and the fans cover the noise of the critters outside last night. Dan, Mike and the Dogs are going to head home. I try to encourage them to stay now that we have power, but Dan has had enough of “roughing” it and longs to be close to home, friends and back to work. I watch silently as they pack, sad to see them leave. Dan wishes to leave by 7:30 A.M. as another storm is brewing. I pray for safety as I hear it is hovering over Cleveland and he will be driving through it.

Hugs, kisses, promises to call, pats on hairy back of our dogs and waves as we watch them hit the road. I, being the worry wart mother I am, will not rest till I know he is safe at home.

Mark’s shoulders hurt, and my legs gave me fits last night despite the fans or because of them. I am moving slower due to the ach in my legs. All is quiet, too quiet without the boys. I miss my son. Mark is busy doing his man things around the cottage. To the beat of hammer drumming as Mark repairs a step and builds a new plank to reach the boat, I busy myself with dishes, straighten the cabin and set out to dive deep into God’s word.

I am truly loving my time with the Lord in these early hours each day and wish I could or would take my bible outdoors more often when we return home. However, I know I have my own spot downstairs and change can be tough sometimes. So I will enjoy this time now.

Sunlight breaks through the trees warming my skin, the hum of hammer and fans drowns out the nature sounds I have come to love. The lake is quiet today, no sounds of boats.

We have not yet decided on our day alone. I hear that small still voice of God who tells me not to worry, to be still and refresh in Him. I sigh deeply, breathing in the scents around me while closing my eyes and putting my head back to rest a moment. How wonderful to rest in God. I sit quietly, meditating and praising. When I open my eyes, I see the red bird fly over my head rustling the leaves in the trees ever so slightly. How lovely.

Dan calls to let us know a few hours later he is safe at home and the dogs do not want to leave the cool air conditioner. They are sleeping and being lazy dogs enjoying the freezer like home. We laugh, tell him to enjoy the house alone and sigh with relief he is okay.

Once my worry stops, I can relax. I open a bottle of wine and for the first “real” time all week, I actually can enjoy some alone time with my husband. We talk and plan our day, enjoying the fact we have power. After some alone time and a shower, a couple of showers just because we can and the water cools us we decide to boat over to the Marina and have a bite to eat. The lake is still, the water hardly ripples as there is no breeze to move it. We only see a scarce boat or two here and there today.

We enter the Marina and order a cheeseburger and I got some so-so tasting Chicken tenders. I remember the days when the marina used to be full of campers and noise. It seems kind of sad to come and no one is around. We eat our meal and ride back to the cabin. I feel a little shaky, not sure if it is the sun or the glass of wine. I lie quietly on the front seat allowing the sun to beat down and the water to lull me into a light sleep.

The heat rises and the climb top side wears me out. I collapse in front of three fans and fall heavily to sleep. I do not want to move, the sleep feels good and the fans drown out all else. I allow myself sweet dreams and feel as if I am floating on the water, drifting to and fro. Today is a lazy day for me. I cannot seem to get motivated, the heat must have affected me more than I thought and now that power and water are restored, I feel God telling me to continue to rest. We all need this from time to time and so infrequently do we actually allow it. I tend to feel guilty when I have lazy days, but today I listen to my body and give in to the weariness.

I will not have days like this once we return and that time is coming far too soon. I enjoy this place, our little slice of paradise. I know when we tell our stories back home people will think I am crazy to have enjoyed it so much, but I truly did. Yet my mind needed this break from Televisions, phones, computers and the outside world. We work hard and this break is what God ordered. This is the most relaxed I have felt in quite some time.

I am not sure what all God wanted to accomplish with me, but he cleared my mind, my stress. Being at the lake has been good medicine. I constantly feel God surrounding me and telling me to “Trust me.” “Be still” and “Let go and let me in.” I need him in my life and often try to do things on my own. He however reminds me I am nothing without him.

We both nap once again and decide upon waking to head to the little town of Freeport in search of dinner. The Marathon station doesn’t have much to offer and hamburgers again do not appeal to either of us. We have no ambition to cook. We end up buying a sub sandwich to split and Mark makes a cucumber salad and grilled veggies.

Our laziness continues, we want to soak up the fans and modern technology we have missed. We fix our meager but filling dinner, make small talk and settle in for the quiet night of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Mark dozes off early while I keep imagining noises outside. I miss the boys and feel lonely and maybe a little homesick. I bounce from not wanting to leave the “Tree House” and returning home. I catch the ten o’clock news and sleep fitfully as I listen to Mark’s loud snores, the static of TV, fans and my imagined creatures in the woods. The dark forest outside makes for a scary night when you are up alone and this night seems extra long for me.

Finally, sleep rescues me from the thoughts of monsters and big brown bears in the woods and I drift off to sleep.

Good night All, Sleep tight.

Teresa Gale