Standing Still!

I cannot begin to tell you how relaxed I feel after our weekend away........We had a great time! Minus a little mishap on Friday, everything else was gravy!  My longing to get away from reality for just a few days turned into a relaxing retreat that has me yearning for more.

We didn't go far, but we loaded the trailer and the boat down and hit the road.  We reached the park Thursday evening and were taken back by the view.......

We had three days of nothing to do....That is heaven for me.  I was calling it a camping trip...as most would do because we were "camping."  But Brian insisted on calling it a "get-away."  At first I didn't think much about it, but after he corrected me several times, I began to try to understand the difference and why was he correcting me.  Here is what I came up with:

Camping - insinuates a outdoor recreational activity, usually involving some kind of physical activity, like hiking, or bicycle riding (which we left at home on purpose)........

"Get-away" - a time to do nothing...not on a schedule.....no physical activity.............time to reflect.

My devotional Friday morning read:

"Christ never asks of us such busy labor that leaves no time for resting at His feet.  The waiting attitude of expectation, He often counts a server most complete."  

So in the busyness of everyone's lives, we do not take the time to sit and listen.  We always have something to say or something that needs to be done.  But this past weekend we relaxed.

Friday was going to be a day that it was just Brian and I.  We had gotten up early enough to bring the kids back to town for school.  So I get back to the lake after dropping the kids off at school and Brian and I head out on the boat.  He had already dropped off some "jugs."  (which are very hard to explain to someone in writing, but heres a shot.....its is a piece of PVC pipe with caps on each end and a weight on the inside.  On the outside of the PVC pipe a "swimming noodle" is placed on one end.....the opposite end is about a 12 ft piece of fishing line with a weight and hooks........they lay flat on the water till a fish pulls the baited hook, which then makes the weight inside pull to the bottom, making the whole thing stand up like a flag.......I really hope that helps).  So we start across the lake to check on the jug lines.  Several were standing up which means, usually, there is a fish.  After checking several and all of the bait was gone and no fish....we just sat there and let the current take us.  We talked for a while, he was straightening stuff up around the boat...I threw out a fishing line.......Nothing.  It was nice........!  Several hours later, after eating lunch and heading back out for a couple of hours before I had to return to town to get the kids from school......I decided to step over a bucket that had hooks lining it....well............one leg made it over no problem, the second was not so lucky!  Yep! you know what happened..............three hooks hit my right left (calf area)....two caused superficial damage, while the 3rd does its job of catching stuff and goes in and out the other side!  I was HOOKED! I was trying to stand still, as my leg was now attached to the bucket that the hook was also attached too.

After several attempts of trying to locate pliers large enough to cut the hook so we could pull it out, I ended up in the ER.  I was the laugh of the ER, as most of the men asked if my husband was trying to catch a shark because the hook was so big.  However the doctor made lite of the situation and convinced me it could have happened to anyone....sensing she could tell I felt like an idiot!  The hospital did not have any pliers large enough but just small enough to cut the hook either....so the next option.....cut it out.  So thats what they did.  The best part about all of that.....well I really didn't have an option anymore of what I would be doing for the weekend.

"Our greatest strength may be our ability to stand still and trust God."

The weekend flew by, but we did relax and enjoy it.  Even though I was instructed not to get in the lake (due to possible infection), I was able to pull Brian and my father-in-law, in a massive tube, behind the boat.  They both acted as if I was scared to throw them.....however, they were dislodged from the tube several times....

I felt refreshed.  My anxiety was gone, though reality was just around the corner....feeling recharged, is GREAT!  We are nothing without Jesus, so give Him the credit.  In the midst of everything that goes on in life, we have to learn to STAND STILL!

 Dear Lord, thank you for vacation time when we can rest and renew our strength. Help us to remember to include you in everything we do. Amen.