Get-A-Way

Greece Pics

My Chris and I just came back from Thessaloniki, Greece.  I know it sounds very - exotic - and quite frankly it was.  A nonprofit sponsored our trip.  We paid to get ourselves there and they took care of the rest.  We stayed in a fabulous hotel right off the Aegean Sea.  We ate from a luxurious buffet, overlooking the Sea, for breakfast and dinner.  We were treated to free hand massages, foot and leg massages, counseling sessions, doctors consultations, chiropractic care, mani-pedis, and goodie bags after every evening session.  We were only obligated to do what we wanted.  We could take advantage of the many services or do nothing.  Every evening there was an hour service which you could or could not attend.  There were roughly 52 volunteers who paid their way to serve the 170 participants who came from Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Tanzania, South Africa, U.E., Germany, Czek Republic, England, Spain, Italy, France, Macedonia and Greece.

I share this not to brag, throw anything in anybody's face, or toot a horn for which I am not responsible.  I share this to make public a few observations:

1.  Christians have a bond because of their unique relationship through Jesus Christ.  It doesn't matter where you were born, where you live, or where your passport tells officials you are from, there is a bond that transcends labels.  Out of the many that were at this retreat, like sand that gets sifted through a sieve, my Chris and I were sifted together with other like-minded people.  Somehow we found each other out of the many to become a few.  Strangers that somehow formed bonds because of the name we all bear - Jesus Christ.  The Bible calls it "Koinonia".  It's a connectedness.  It's a closeness that doesn't need time to develop.  It's a sense of having known one way longer than a clock would bear witness.

2.  Everyone needs a get-a-way.  Mine just happened to be in Greece.  (I'm sorry that sounds so flippantly arrogant.) A get-a-way allows minds to settle into neutral (after adjusting to the new normal).  A get-a-way gives the body permission to be at rest and without guilt.  A get-a-way reminds you of the work you do and why you do it.  A get-a-way forces shut down of some brain waves in order for other brain waves to be activated:  dreaming, new vision, possibility, hope.  A get-a-way reconnects you to you.  A get-a-way puts real life into perspective making it smaller and more manageable.

3.  Laughter is good medicine.  We, my Chris and I, had the privilege of spending our get-a-way with three other couples that we do life with in Vienna.  This was our first out of country adventure with them - and perhaps the last!  We laughed.  We laughed with abandon.  We laughed so hard we were culturally inappropriate.  We laughed out loud.  We laughed at one another.  We laughed at ourselves. We laughed until we cried.  We laughed and laughed and laughed.  I laugh now just thinking about how much we laughed!

4.  Good gifts must be received graciously.  The very fact that I'm writing about our fabulous trip is a sign that God has worked out a good thing in my head and heart when it comes to being His kid.  For years, I would have felt a little too guilty for enjoying such a retreat, much less writing about it.  Because we raise our own support to run a nonprofit which includes running a family I would have felt indulgent about flaunting such a exotic retreat.  But, I've come to recognize some truth about God.  God is a good Father.  Jesus told us so.  What kind of earthly Father would give his offspring a rock when they asked for a piece of bread???  Not a legitimate Father worth talking about.  A good Father wants to give good gifts to his children.  And, if earthly Dads give good gifts, how much MORE does a heavenly Father want to do so?!  God's lavishes His love on us - accept it graciously!

5.  Travel makes you smart.  When you travel, you are reduced to basic street smarts.  I didn't speak the language (it was all Greek to me!).  I had to figure out how to get from point A to point B.  I had to disregard beggars.  I had to trust strangers directions.  I had to decide if crossing the street without a cross walk was wise.  I had to buy things in the grocery store based on my instinct.  I saw, ate or experienced things that in no way resembled my norm - and it was OK!  Travel just makes you see the vast extremes.  Travel allows you to use parts of your brain that are normally on auto pilot.  Travel opens doors to new experiences that make you a better human.

It may not be Greece, but take advantage of a Get-a-Way.  Take a trip to a neighboring town, go to Walmart without your kids, extend a weekend to explore a new part of the country - just make room for a Get-a-Way.

Looking for my next adventure,
Christina