Savoring Paradise

How lucky am I to be in this beautiful hotel in this luxurious bed listening to the waves crash outside our room, soaking in the view on this paradise island, Kauai. Beside me is my husband of 9 years, whom I grow to love more with each changing season of life, and within me grows our child, a miracle from God. There have been times leading up to this trip where I have felt like a spoiled child. Vacation to such a location is luxurious and with the amount we have been able to travel, I began to wonder if it is also frivolous. However, sitting here this morning, I set those notions aside and simply praise my God the creator of this beautiful place and ask him (as I have been leading up to this trip also) to use this opportunity of time away in nature “alone” with my husband (the last hoorah, I like to call it!) to bless us and build us. I thank God for this opportunity and for his goodness.

Two days ago I started to read Out live you life by Max Lucado. Normally, Lucado’s writing isn’t my favorite style. However, 2 chapters into this book, he has me hooked. To be honest I wasn’t quite sure what this book would all be about, but I figured it was something to do with making the most out of your life and that is a topic that interests me. The book is about making a difference with our lives and about making an impact so the effects of your life extend beyond your lifetime. It’s got me thinking, like really thinking. And in this act of reading and thinking it driving me to write, and I am reminded again of what my English teacher in high school had posted at the front of the class: “why do we read, why do we write? To learn what we think.” And indeed, this is exactly why I love to read and exactly why I love to write. Both are such gifts granted to me and I am excited to embrace them on this vacation in paradise.

Mmmm, in anticipation of the moments that lie ahead this week, I savor what it means to “get away” and enjoy leisure; to reflect and renew and think about life from a different perspective. To think about what God is doing in my life and how that can change the way I live instead of living in a set track of the day in day out paradigm expectations of our society. And this moment right now, writing in Hawaii listening and viewing the ocean, oh I savor this, having often dreamed of taking a “sabbatical” to come to Hawaii and write. This here, right now, is a dream moment!