Solid Investment...Great Returns

Sometimes when I am in the middle of a project and things are flowing well I begrudge every minute I spend away from my desk. Having to stop to prepare a meal or attend to any number of other everyday tasks seems a huge imposition. That’s how I felt about taking a whole week to go camping right when I was finally making progress on some of the goals I’d set for my writing. At the same time I also recognized how important it was that my husband and I have that time apart. We try to keep our lives simple and our priorities straight but it’s a very short step to the place where we are so focused on whatever task is at hand that our relationship gets put on hold and we count on shared history to carry us through. That might work for a little while but I know from past experience that it can wear thin in a hurry.

So last week I shut down the computer and Bev put aside his latest woodworking project. We packed up all the gear in our little nugget box of a trailer and set off together for the campground armed with plans to invest in something really important…us.

Jesus taught us that we need to set aside time apart with the Father in order to foster an intimate relationship with Him. You can’t put a value on those moments or hours you spend just being with Him, getting to know Him better, experiencing His love, gaining strength and finding comfort as you rest in His presence. Why should it be any different for husbands and wives? We learned long ago to keep short accounts in our marriage so that our vacations are not about dealing with issues that have been swept under the carpet for too long. For us, vacations are about being together in a place apart, fostering the spiritual, emotional and physical intimacy that we crave in our relationship.

This past week was special in so many ways. The teamwork involved in setting up our tiny home away from home…strolling together along the waterfront and watching the waves roll in…our shared delight in discovering a patch of wild blackberries ripe for the picking…my husband’s strong hand reaching out to help me over the rough patches as we scrambled among the boulders and crevasses on the Bruce Trail…lying close in the dark as we listened to the crash of thunder and the rain beating a tattoo on the roof of our cozy shelter…long talks about our hopes and dreams and the things God is teaching us…the courage I derived from knowing he was at my back as I conquered my fear of heights to do the kilometer long zip line off of Blue Mountain…shared experiences knitting our hearts together. We gained strength and we found comfort as we rested in each other’s presence. It cost us one week out of our busy schedules but we can’t put a value on what we gained in return. Love grows if you take the time to foster it. It’s an investment well worth making.