I don't know about you, but I'm longing for lazy time in the sun, looking out at a deep blue ocean, with palm trees and endless sun...
Some place like Acapulco, for instance.
I hadn't thought much about Acapulco before the January day I heard a convention speaker describe it in Chamber-of-Commerce terms.
All I knew about him was his name: Zig Ziglar.
Once he took the podium he spun some country stories, his southern accent coming through. the stories never stopped.
After awhile he looked out over his audience, smiling and with his eyes twinkling and asked:
"How many of you think you're overworked and too stressed to take time off to relax?"
Most of us in that large auditorium raised our hands.
"Well, how about a package deal that includes two round-trip plane tickets, plus vouchers for a week at a plush oceanside resort, all meals and tips included.
"Now, I know you're overworked and too stressed to take time off to relax . . . (He grinned and paused for what seemed a long time.) "But how many of you think you could be at the airport, checked in and ready to fly to Acapulco by 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon? Raise your hands, please."
Laughter. Cheers. Everyone waving their raised hands.
Zig waited for us to quiet down
Then he said in a soft voice, "Well, if you could have been packed and ready to go to Acapulco by tomorrow at 2, why can't you manage to take a weekend off with your spouse or your whole family?
"I'll bet there's a nice motel with an indoor swimming pool not too far from where you live.
"The point is each of us somehow manages to do what we really think is important to do.
"And nothing is more important than your marriage and your family!
"Don't put the people you love last on your To Do list! When your personal life is happy you'll be more productive in every other area of your life--and less stressed, too."
Are you feeling stressed and overworked?
All of us wonder sometimes How will I make it through the day?
It's true for moms. And dads. For the married and the single. For old and young. For people who struggle from paycheck to paycheck and for those who don't.
Even if we're well-adjusted.
Even when we're happily married and love our children to pieces.
Even though we're strong Christians.
Sometimes, for no particular reason, life simply feels overwhelming.
Times like that we dream of escape--to Acapulco, or any place, really, where we can be calm and quiet, with time to think and no pressure.
But we stay
We stay because we love our spouse and our children.
We stay because we have something to do that matters.
We stay because we know deep down we're right where we need to be.
And because it's the way to peace in our hearts.
So we take a deep breath and ask God to renew our strength and our joy--and maybe our love.
And we remember again what the writer of Ecclesiastes said in chapter 4:6:
Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. --Ecclesiastes 4:6 (NIV)
Besides . . .
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. -- Proverbs 15:13 (NIV)
Even in Acapulco.
Growing, too,
Lenore
