Living VS Visiting

Shirliza & I love to travel whenever we can. We have definitely been bitten by the "travel bug."

We've come to play a game on every trip we take. It goes like this: one of us asks the other if this is a place we could live, day to day, or if it's just a place we'd like to visit. I often wonder if this is common for other fellow travelers...


When we visited Rio de Janiero, I was ready to sell our possessions and move to Rio, even if it meant pitching a tent and living on the beach. After we visited London and Paris, we discussed how exciting it would be to live in the "City of Lights" under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower or shop at Harrod's in London for Christmas presents every year. Then, when we visited New York, we talked about the possibilities of lazy Sunday afternoons walking through Central Park and ice skating at Rockefeller Center in the winter.

Recently we visited the New England states and were captivated by the beauty of the fall foliage. Of course the topic once again came up--could we live here? It was so easy for me to get lost in the daydream of living on a rural farm in Vermont with nothing but beautiful green rolling hills, fresh air and maple syrup to wake up to every morning. No smog, no traffic, no rat race, no "this is my town" Dodger billboards!

Coming home, there is always that one to two week "downer" that sets in after the high of the new experiences of visiting some far away land. However, I've found that the downer slowly fades once you settle back into day to day life at home.

After all my travels and my subsequent downers, one thing has always stayed constant and will always stay constant: God is with us. Whether we're in Maui or London, LA or NY, God is with us. He has all of us where we are for His ultimate purpose. We can daydream and plan all we want, but God is our GPS and our travel guide in this life. I ask God to forgive me for my gripes after returning from a vacation, because the fact is that he has blessed me with the ability to take a vacation in the first place. So I pray that my next vacation will not end up with the question of, "can we see ourselves living here?" but rather, "God, can you use us here for your glory?"

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17