Family Vacation

by Shawn Martin

Just got back from vacation today. The 'fam' and I just spent the last 5 days in Colorado!! Boy does my heart come alive there, men. It's my selfish desire that the Father will bring me there someday, permanently. As such, the last 5 days were less than 'ideal' for me. We were in Colorado, in a cabin, in the woods, secluded from much, as a FAMILY. With my camera in hand, I could spend all day, alone, snapping shots of God's beautiful creation. Telling the kids to be quiet so as not to scare away the deer, elk, squirrels, etc. It was a daily choice to will myself to enter their world and enjoy them as opposed to trying to keep them out of mine. The first night at the cabin I asked my son to say the prayer before eating, out on the deck, near sunset, next to the hot tub... oops. i got sidetracked again. But seriously, my son's prayer consisted of thanking God for giving us this awesome vacation to this awesome place, etc.

I knew this kind of vacation is right up my son's alley. He'd be right there with me out in the wilderness. The girls - that's another story. They wanted to shop. To even suggest that we actually stay AT the cabin the entire time would not have been well received. So, you compromise. We spent the days in 'town'; colorado springs, manitou springs, Royal Gorge, etc, and the evenings at the cabin. We all got something we liked. I still managed to snap about 400 pictures.

Another mindset I changed - for the first time - was the need to get to where we were going on time, or better yet, ahead of time. I'd get upset when we had to make an extra bathroom stop... AGAIN. I didn't do any of that this time and guess what? It was a much more enjoyable drive. All those years of stress and resentment cause we couldn't make a nonstop drive for four or twelve hours straight. ha!

It was good for me to lighten up this last week. I wasn't perfect by any means gentlemen. I struggled with my need to control my surroundings (ie. control my kids' behavior), but I made some great progress and reaped the benefits of it. I was able to enjoy Colorado with my family instead of just enjoying Colorado.

So for this blog I'm not offering encouragement, or insight as we typically try to do. I just wanted to share alittle about me and how i'm just like anyone else. This 'walking with God' thing doesn't make me any better off than the next guy. It's tough. It's hard. I'm still in my infancy as it relates to leaving behind the legalism and learning to love and be loved by the Father. It's worth the fight and hard work for sure. I'm in it for the long haul and I hope you are too.

Have a great week men!