By Katie Ginn
I’ve been blessed to take a couple of long weekend road trips recently. First, in September, I went with my best friend Michelle to Franklin, Tennessee. We stayed in an adorable 1920s-era home, shopped and ate our way through downtown Franklin, and attended a book signing.
One of the highlights was a thunderstorm that had the power going on again, off again. At one point, when it was on again, we had the front window open at our Airbnb and were sitting on the couch, reading, and enjoying the sound of the rain. Then the power went off again – and we just switched on our flashlights and kept reading.
That’s what I call A Perfect Vacation.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, Stephen and I drove down to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Neither of us had been there before, and we were excited to explore the town, see the beach, and escape from stress for a bit.
Our first night there, we discovered a little pack of earplugs on each nightstand. I assumed they were there in case we had noisy neighbors (which we did). Then, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., as we tried to sleep, a train rattled by, blaring its horn, on four separate occasions. The railroad was right behind our building.
The train and our ensuing lack of sleep derailed (pun intended) our plans for a “beach day” the next day, so we just meandered around downtown and visited the Walter Anderson Museum. In fact, we ended up not doing a beach day on this trip at all. I decided I just needed to see the beach, and walk on it a bit, and I would be fine. We only had two full days on the coast; there were other things we wanted to do, and I was more of a mountain person anyway. Right?
So we ate at Shaggy’s on Biloxi Beach and walked on said beach for a few minutes, and we drove down to Front Beach in Ocean Springs and hung out on the covered pier for a little bit. That was our beach time.
Finally, as we were leaving for home, I realized (too late) that I did want a beach day. I was irrationally angry with Stephen, and more reasonably angry with myself for not figuring that out sooner. Sigh. I had not experienced A Perfect Vacation.
Going into this trip, I thought I’d have at least a couple of hours under a beach umbrella to read a book while the waves lulled me into relaxation. Instead – again, because I said, “I just need to see the beach” – we mostly walked around and ate, and shopped.
Waaahhh, all I got was a bunch of yummy meals and shopping time! As Chandler famously quipped on “Friends”: “My wallet’s too small for my fifties, and my diamond shoes are too tight!”
I feel like an idiot having to type this after a vacation, but maybe, just maybe, I should be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and focus on the good things (Philippians 4:8). No, I didn’t get to read for two hours with my feet in the sand. But I did read a whole book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, much like my trip with Michelle, the highlight of this one wasn’t a Big Vacation Experience, but quality time on the couch – in this case, playing Uno with Stephen. We rarely sit down to play a mindless game, and it was fun.
God is gracious, y’all. Despite my selfishness, the Father made a way to adopt me into His family through Jesus’ sacrifice. And He’s slowly making me more and more like Jesus (Romans 8), even when it doesn’t seem like it.
Meanwhile, by His grace, I’ll thank Him for vacations and train horns and Uno games. And our next trip? Forget the beach: We’re going to the mountains!