Don't Wanna Miss a Thing...: maine vacation ~ goodbye

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." ~Dr. Seuss

Well, I can't believe our vacation is over. I still wonder if it was all just a dream, but then I look at the hundreds of pictures from our trip to remind me that it was real. Before we left for our vacation, Nathan and I felt stressed and overwhelmed with life. We were bogged down and burdened with the pressures and demands of life that felt so constant lately. Perhaps we don't give those pressures and demands and burdens to the Lord enough, and we try to hold on to them to remain in control of our own lives. BUT, just getting away really helps put life into perspective. We returned refreshed, renewed, encouraged, and ready to face reality once again. I guess you could say we had a great vacation then.

We NEEDED a vacation. We NEEDED a time of rest and relaxation. We NEEDED a time to get away from our home and not have a care or a pressure in the world. We NEEDED family time. We NEEDED a time to laugh and reminisce. We NEEDED to see our friends again - it had been way too long. We NEEDED to a fresh and new perspective. AND, the Lord provided everything that we needed.

If I must say, going back to the reality of our lives was hard. We had so much fun and enjoyed our time away. If it weren't for our lack of clean clothes, it would have been so easy to stay another week. BUT, we had to go home. We had to say goodbye to our friends. We had to go back to the rat-race. I had to go back to doing dishes again. :-( (Joel & Jess took over that responsibility at the cottage which was a huge blessing to me. It was nice getting to sit down and relax after the kids went to bed and not do chores. Thank you guys for that treat! I felt spoiled!) BUT, we had our memories to fall back on and that puts smiles on our faces.