Vacation Brought Home
/by Rev. Eric Folkerth
On our recent trip to Northern New Mexico —our sixth over the years— I kept seeing things that reminded me of home. The above picture is just one example.
On the left is a garden path at Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, and on the right is our own backyard garden path.
What struck me as blindingly obvious, but what I’d somehow not consciously realized (or had forgotten), is that for 30 years we’ve been bringing back little “touches” from Northern New Mexico to our daily life in Dallas.
This garden was just one example.
The moment I saw it, I snapped this picture and said, “Oh…Northern New Mexico is part of where we got this idea…”
Our daily lives in the city are busy and bustling. It’s very easy to get lost in the “to do list” of the day, and the stress and demands of work and family.
But, even in our daily lives, we can bring a bit of our “vacation time” back with us. The restfulness, relaxation, sights, and sounds we see in nature…or in other cities…we can bring those things back to life here in Oak Cliff.
And the more we do, the more daily peace we can find in this hectic place we call home.
Over these next two months, many of you will be taking much needed vacations to places far away; destinations that mean something to you.
Enjoy every moment! And as you do, occasionally reflect on: “How can I bring this relaxed vacation feeling back home with me?”
It might not mean creating an entirely new garden in your backyard. But maybe it means setting aside a special place in your home with a token of your trip…something that pulls back to your centered and restful “vacation self.”
A stone from a path, a shell from the ocean, a picture of that fish you caught, a piece of art on your wall…
All these and many more can help pull us back to a place of rest when our days get hectic.
When I am on vacation —gazing at some mountain, or ocean, or marvelous city— it is easy to understand these words of the Psalm:
“Let heaven celebrate! Let the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it roar!
Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate!
Then all the trees of the forest too will shout out joyfully.”
But too often in my daily life, I forget these truths. The world can get small, and my focus too narrow on what is right in front of me. So I need the reminders in my home to help pull me back - outside and beyond myself.
So definitely go on those vacations this summer. Enjoy every moment. But give yourself one assignment: ask how you will bring that feeling and spirit back with you…how you will create your space *here* to help you be reminded of God’s beauty and presence in all places.
When we create these kinds of spaces in our “real world” lives, they call us to the deeper reminder of God’s presence in every place and time…even the hectic city.
Grace and Peace,
Eric