Mini Vacation of the Spirit

I took a mini vacation of the spirit this morning. It wasn't planned. It was a serendipitous gift I think. I took Alan to work at 5:30. On the way to the office we stopped to buy donuts and coffee. Then as we made our way down Nevada Avenue the sun began peeking its way through. With the mountains to the West side of us and open road ahead, it felt just like the beginning of all the vacations through my life before. My dad always insisted we leave on vacation early in the morning so vacations always began with the sun barely rising. Alan is the same.

I dropped Alan off and began my way back. It's a mere 8 miles from office to home, but oh what a glorious 8 miles this morning! The sun seemed to spotlight different views of the mountains and the bluffs just as I was driving by as if to say, "Hey! Look at this! Isn't it a beautiful world and a wonderful life?" The sun first spotlighted the burn area and the unburned areas around it. It may sound strange to say this, but there was a certain beauty and balance in the view. In the midst of the horrible remnants of the fire was a beautiful area of red rocks and trees not touched by the fire. A place of hope in the midst of devastation.

As I turned onto Austin Bluffs going back east, the sun began peeking over the bluffs in a misty, surrealistic way. It was quiet and still. No heavy traffic yet. Coffee by my side and Buddy in my lap. I felt my spirit breathe and refresh itself in the moment.

Although my mini vacation of the spirit only lasted 30 minutes, I know it will last all day. Maybe it will last all week, or longer. We live in a beautiful city. God's beauty surrounds us and is in the midst of us everywhere. We've been through a lot in the last month, but the beauty remains and cannot be banished or broken through devastations or natural disasters. That's rather like God in my life to me. I've been through devastations and heartaches in my life, but God remains. He cannot be banished and never leaves me. I thank Him for the mini vacation of spirit He gave as a blessing to me this morning.