The summer has arrived! The sun shines bright and warm, and the flowers are out! The sense of renewal is in the air, and everyone seems to be less anxious and stressed. Even though the cost of living has everyone concerned, seeing the sunshine helps everyone’s mood. The state of world affairs is still pressing upon us all, but the pandemic, the cost of living, the price of gasoline and the war in Ukraine etc., seems to be more manageable when the sun shines in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Most people have plans for some sort of vacation this year, as it seems like ages since we have been able to comfortably stray farther from our homes. Summer holidays, no matter how far we go, are meant to help us relax and forget our troubles for a few days. The distance we travel isn’t as important as the feeling created by a change in our routine. Vacation helps us decompress and relax so that when we return to our routine, we can again handle all the stress in our lives.
Unfortunately, changing our routines in the summer, sometimes causes us to change everything in our routines. We forget the days of the week. We forget about work. We sleep in! We stay up late! And, sometimes, we forget about going to church.
For most people, going to church means attending a particular building at a particular time, but I want to remind everyone that there are churches everywhere you go. Going on vacation shouldn’t mean a vacation from our Lord and Saviour. The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are everywhere, but God wants you to “visit” his house just like you would visit your earthly father. The church is the “home” of Our Saviour and he would like you to drop in and visit your spiritual family while you are away. Every town, community, and city has a church that you can attend during your well-deserved vacation.
God isn’t concerned that you aren’t in your regular church to worship him, as long as you take the time in your busy life to visit with him. God wants us to show our faith by going to church so that each and every week, we can renew ourselves spiritually! Your vacation is to get away from work and our every day business. Our time with God isn’t stressful. Our Lord provides peacefulness and love, and if anything, we should be spending more time with the Holy Trinity, not less. God’s love shouldn’t be something we try to get away from, but instead it should be something we run toward.
Changing our routines for the summer, and “getting away from it all,” is necessary for good mental health, but don’t include your faith as part of your routine. Visit any church when you go on vacation and thank God for all the love that has been shown to you! If you include God in your holidays, not only will your work/life balance be better, but so will your relationship with our Lord and Saviour.
God bless you all and may you all be safe this summer!
