Vacations Are Not Restful

This is going to be a ramble, but oh well. All life is journey. And when journey is the primary activity of life, I don't rest. I live more. My senses are more acute, and I am super sensitive to the new stimuli around me. And I leave vacation exhausted.

I agree with Mark Batterson that stamps in my passport are acts of worship. When the Scripture says, "Go" in Matthew 28, it can be translated "as you are going." Scripture also tells us that God's glory fills the whole earth. I want to be in the process of going and uncovering every bit of God's glory in his creation that I can find.

One area in which I absolutely did not rest on this last trip was in the realm of scientific mental meanderings. Whenever I am outside in the middle of amazing surroundings, I worship God. And that certainly happened in Newfoundland. But that always leads this biological engineer to thoughts about the earth's origins.

On the first day we were there, we visited the Geo Centre, which introduced visitors to the history and geology of Newfoundland and Labrador. We learned that the impressive rock formations were created over millions of years of tectonic plate shifts. We learned that some of the oldest rocks in the world- dating back 4 billion years- were discovered on the Eastern shores of Canada. I was amazed. And I worshiped.

Let me make one thing very clear. I believe God created the world and everything in it. I honestly don't understand how you can be a scientist and not believe that a higher power had something to do with the miracles that surround us every day. I believe God created. But I also suspect the world is billions of years old. That doesn't diminish my view of God. On the contrary, it diminishes my own sense of self importance.

I can spin myself into all manner of scientific and theological conundrums. I absolutely wore out my brain cells trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together (I can argue with myself). But that doesn't leave me frustrated. It leaves me in awe and wonder at the majesty of God and worshiping him more than before.

It also leaves me tired. What a great experience-- to worship God so much that you are exhausted. What a great vacation.