Vacation eyes.

Today my friend and I were talking about how we miss out opportunities to really 'see' God's goodness and majesty around us everyday.  How the mundane day to day can rob us of really having open eyes and can make us take for granted gifts that God gives us.

I want to be about noticing.

I want to be about deep breaths.

I want to be about really taking it all in.

I want to be about vacation eyes.


Vacation eyes?  Vacation eyes.


Think about vacation. There is anticipation and excitement for what's to come. And when you arrive....well it's quite wonderful. Everything seems grander, more beautiful.  Food is more delectable. Sunsets are more glorious. Your family is sweeter and kinder, funnier and you enjoy their company. You notice the little things and celebrate every day.

Then we often come home and call it 're-entry'. Almost momentarily we are 'back' and settle into old routines and patterns.

But what if....what if we saw our everyday life....with vacation eyes?

And even as we raked the leaves that we are cursing for falling....we stop.

And pick one up.

And notice how vibrant the color is.
How perfect the shape is.
How it seemed to jump out of the pile....beckoning you to pick it up.

And for that moment....we stopped.  And noticed. 
And because we did...
We also

Felt the breeze caress our face on a rough afternoon of unpleasantness.
Embraced the sunshine beaming down on us as we walked into somewhere we didn't want to go.
Savored each moment of our child's laughter even when it came at an inopportune time.
Really stopped and listened to our loved one tell us what is hurting them.

And our vacation love and our vacation patience and our vacation joy and our vacation self...

Intersected with our everyday love, patience, joy and self.

And we were never the same again.


That's what I got today.