With busy schedules and many demands on our time, my husband Steve and I know the importance of withdrawing for some rest and recreation.  I can't think of a better location to do so than was our destination - Hawaii.  God simply showed out when he made those islands.  Everywhere I looked, the vistas were more than I could possibly absorb. I saw His magnificence in His creations. 

 Even with all the beauty and fun we enjoyed, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for enjoying such a great vacation.  I thought how I would have liked to have shared that experience with the entire family - our sons and their spouses and our eight grandchildren. Then I remembered an sermon illustration Steve used at some point in his ministry.  A pastor announced he would be gone  two weeks for a vacation.  A super-pious deacon came to him after the service and said, "Preacher, do you really think it is appropriate for you to take a vacation?  You know the devil never takes one."

"Yes, I know that, but I also know my Lord did, and I think I had rather follow His example than the devil's."  The quick-witted pastor then reminded the man of the times Jesus saw need to withdraw from the crowds.

I return home to loads of laundry, hundreds of emails, knee-high grass in the yard, but with a smile on my face.  I praise God anew for His goodness and His grace.  I am reminded by His creations that He wants me to have life and have it more abundantly.  When the jet-lag leaves, I just know I will be a better writer, speaker, wife, mother, and grandmother for having experienced this wonderful time of rest and recreation.