Vacation is a wonderful thing – no doubt, but it can also be difficult.

When I am able to get away with my family, to a beautiful place like the beach, we get to escape reality in some way.

I also find I do a lot more praying and communing with God when on vacation. For me, it’s truly a spiritual experience. I’m able to slow down and disconnect amidst the majestic beauty. It awakens my senses, and my awe for all God has done and is doing – all His goodness. My gratefulness spills over in praise and worship.

So, vacation and all the wonderful “escapism” it provides from the daily battles and obligations of reality is truly refreshing, and can make me covet for an endless summer.

In some small way maybe it’s like Peter looking to stay on top of the mountain of transfiguration with Jesus. It was all so beautiful, awe inspiring, and majestic for him. But, we quickly see, Jesus and His disciples came back down the mountain and back to the crowds of people there.

Up there everything was perfect, but down there is where the ministry was. It’s where they had to go. The mountain top experience was refreshing and good, but back down they came.

I wonder if it was hard to come back down? Not for Jesus, but for the disciples. I imagine, it must have felt a bit like leaving a mini vacation for them.

So, yes – for me, it can be hard to leave the tranquilty a vacation can provide. Especially when the weather cooperates perfectly, attending church on the beach is enriching, playing with my kids is overwhelmingly full, and my worship and prayer is overflowing with deep gratitude.

But back down the mountain I come – my wife and son are excited to get back, and to reconnect with their friends and sleep in their own beds. But for me, I suspect sometimes, I’m fearful to do so. If I’m honest, it can be hard to go back out and into what can feel like the monotony of a daily grind.

But it’s where the harvest is plentiful. It’s where I can use the gifts God has given me, and it’s where I can continue to grow, experience new adventures, heal from past wounds, and learn to love as God has called me to.

I’m truly grateful for the mountain top experiences, but in the end, I’m most thankful that God walks with us back down the mountain and into all that awaits us there.

That’s my great expectation and hope – that my tomorrow holds new opportunities, deeper connections, and new growth. So, I hold what was as a precious memory in my heart and venture out in faith, wide-eyed with God, into the new day He has given.