The Fight Within

“v-a-c-c-i-n-a-t-i-o-n“

… (spelled here for the uninformed), I can honestly say that the R&R received was not as valuable as the time and money spent. As anyone who runs a business, manages an intricate portion of a company’s bottom line, pastors a church, or has a huge laundry list of important things to complete, time away is not as relaxing because it’s hard to leave behind those things that represent a big part of your identity.

People. Deadlines. Projects. Meetings. Commitments. Replacements. Emergencies. Incidents. All these things float over your head and keep you distracted from the rest and relaxation you were hoping to achieve.

Then. Your knee goes out while traveling and you cannot enjoy the tour of places you were hoping to savor! Or, you have an overnight stomach bug and that wipes you out of the running for several days. Or, someone calls you with some potentially negative news on the home or business front. Or… well. We’ve all been there!

“It just goes to show you, it’s always something!” ~
Roseanne Roseannadanna  (Gildna Radner)

Well, let’s just say these are the normal things that happen on a vacation. At least in my world. We seldom get time away without something happening in our rearview mirror.

These issues are not solved by a stay-cation either. I would work just as hard hiding out on the homefront and spending even more energy on keeping the world rotating for a few more days, all the while trying to rest. Relax. Unwind.

When you are younger you accept that this is what you must do to keep the food on the table and the family safe. Run projects from afar. Answer questions from co-workers and customers. Connect to the web and cellular services so you can keep your fingers in the pie. But as you age, and those responsibilities mount, then you really want the R&R to be an actual R&R… True Rest. True Relaxation.

There is something to be said for finding a hide-a-way in the middle of nowhere and disconnecting and vegetating the way you like to vegetate…you know… Veg! Not that I would find it appealing, but have you thought about an escape to a desert isle in the middle of the ocean?

In this modern world of instant contact, and constant connection with the outside world, we must find ways to unplug. This is what I’ve called The Fight Within. We all deal with it, and it’s a tough battle! How do you find the strength to break away, and force yourself to go off-grid, and ensure that your internal fortitude will not check in when that spare signal shows up!

A few years ago we were cruising to Alaska out of Seattle. We were bound and determined to disconnect and simply enjoy being tourists to that state where we had once lived in for 16 years. This was before the cruise industry activated powerful WIFI signals, so I checked the data plan and found it prohibitively expensive for the 7 days, so I migrated into Airplane Mode. However, habit is what it is, I turned the Airplane Mode off when making a one day ocean crossing and there off the coast of Canada in the Pacific Ocean I got full strength signal from my cellular provider. No Roaming. No minimal accessibility. Full Contact!

This took me out of my quiet mode and activated the cortex of my brain that says, Eureka! and immediately I had to check in to see what on earth was going on!

Here’s my thought today. This is the fight you must conquer with how your brain and actions have become hard-wired. You cannot give in to that momentary flare of thought about home-base. You must clamp it off and redirect yourself to the task at hand. Rest! Relax!

This internal fighting mechanism is the same one you use to turn the worry bug off or to quit think self-limiting thoughts about your ability to conquer and overcome. You can win the fight within.

Even the Apostle Paul tells us about his responsibilities, and if you can imagine for a moment, there was no mass communication available! Everything was done thinking about the steps to get to a certain point and share communication that takes months between the writer and reader, speaker or hearer!

Imagine Paul, from a stable location, on a ship in the ocean, or even in a prison cell in Rome…he has a global responsibility.

“…besides the other things,
what comes upon me daily:
my deep concern for all the churches.” 
(2 Corinthians 11:28 NKJV)

What comes on him daily…his deep concern for all the churches. Spread over a large geographical region that is rife with politics, intrigue, restrictions, and travel issues. Paul is constantly concerned for every church under his wing. Read his epistles and you find him naming issues, people, events – all of which keep him on his toes. His responsibility is huge!

How did he find rest? Was there such a thing as relaxation?

Remember. It was different back then. Farmers and ranchers know that it is a 7 day a week, 24 hours a day, 365 critical days a year to keep their world working. Even when they take off, they never disconnect so much as to worry about finding disaster when they return home. Communication still happens between their far-flung place and the home front.

Paul had a vision, a calling, a must-do or die mission – Macedonia. If you study him you find it takes a while before he steps foot onsite.

For indeed, when we came to Macedonia,
our bodies had no rest,
but we were troubled on every side.
Outside were conflicts,
inside were fears.
(2 Corinthians 7:5 NKJV)

No Rest. Troubled. Conflicts. And fears inside. Read the story deeper and you find that Paul finds his peace in the end and states:

I have confidence in you. In everything. (2 Corinthians 7:16)

Think about it. From afar Paul had to deal with his life and could only know the results of his epistles when a messenger brings him a report or response. This could be months of time! But in the end, he shares that he had confidence in the event and people from afar. And that means everything!

When I fight within over the things that are happening on the home-front, I must have confidence in the structure, order, people and events that are out of my control and purview. This is how I win the fight. Trust. Confidence. Faith. Grace. Mercy. All those words we take for granted because we do not truly understand them.

Remember how I spelled vacation? V-a-c-c-i-n-a-t-i-o-n… 

You vaccinate to prevent disease, forestall the flu, or prepare for an attack. If you have done your job well, then a vacation is your R&R in preparation for your return. However, vaccinations are not immediately effective. For most of them, it takes a bit of time for their effect to become quantifiable. Yes. Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) are fought by vaccination, but you must give it time to work!

Recently, in the state I currently reside, Measles has made a return because some folks did not vaccinate their children. The statement made was that “Measles is no more a threat…” but, I surmise, only as long as we vaccinate against it!

You Need Vaccination!

Here’s what I suggest: Set your systems and guidelines in place. Pick and prepare your replacements well. Choose the time to escape to an R&R period. Trust in the system and the people. And then “Let go…and Let God!” Now. Practice this as often as it takes to make sure the lesson is learned well!