But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:17
Husband went to Daytona Beach Bike Week and won’t be back until Sunday. He has been going to Bike Week for at least one weekend much longer than we have been married. When we first married, it was hard for me to get used to the idea that the weekend is sacred. A guys’ only trip that nothing should interrupt. I would be angry left at home with the children working my job while he played. Then, I began to look on it as a vacation for me, too. I told the boys that I would not cook while Dad was gone. In addition to eating out, we tried to do at least one thing fun that we don’t usually do. When they got old enough to hang onto the back of the bike, he starting taking the kids with him. Whoo Hoo! It was mom’s weekend off, too! Because he is retired and discovered that he can stay in a campground at the racetrack for ten days at a cost less than a weekend in a hotel, husband is enjoying the whole experience; two weekends with a week in between. The young adults are in and out, working and at school, but I still vowed not to cook the entire time except for chicken pot pie on Pi day (3/14). I’ve read, finished the edits on my latest book, cleaned out a basket of old mail, gardened, eaten dinner with friends, attended a talk by one of my favorite writers and bloggers and this weekend, will take a canning class and go to the movies, also with friends. It has been a lovely week. I do miss husband and not just because the refrigerator stopped working, but because I think it is good for us to take a break from each other once in a while. Gets us out of our complacency and forces us to quit taking each other for granted. Husband is grateful that I “let him go” while I found the bed too big and cold without him beside me. I expect even after I am retired, it will continue to be a guy’s getaway. Gives me leverage to do some things I want to do like plan a girls’ weekend to New York City with some friends. (Is a smiley face a legitimate form of punctuation now?) I was thinking about what happens when people decide to “take a break from God.” It is not like God needs us and would be more appreciative of us when we finally turn back to Him. As someone who has been there and tried that, I can assure you that God is always waiting for us to return, not because He needs us, but because He loves us. As humans, we get ourselves into a lot of trouble without God’s wisdom and guidance. The kind of trouble a bunch of middle aged guys on motorcycles at Bike Week can find. Or their wives, left home alone. (smiley face)
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