Vacation and Balance

 

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11 ESV).

 

Through the years Mary and I have been to the Smoky Mountains many times. We began taking the boys as soon as they were born. Now, of course, it is just she and I that make the trip. We love to drive through the mountains and have often stopped along the way to see the vistas at the overlooks. At each of them there are historical signs giving visitors information about the site. Of all of these, only the Cade’s Cove Loop was enjoyed by all of us consistently. The highlights of our trips for the boys were usually the gift shops and “haunted houses”. Mary’s favorite shops were different than theirs, so time was allocated to do both. Even today we must stop and browse the “Life Is Good” shop in the Village. You can see her in the picture I’ve attached from a previous trip. For me, these are merely distractions from the real “stuff.” Of course I know they’re not distractions for her; they’re an important part of being there.

 

I was reminded of this as I read today’s Scripture. Peter and the others had good reason to be fishing. It was their livelihood. They probably thought they would be fishing every day for the rest of their lives. And there wouldn’t have been anything wrong with that. But God had something else in mind for them. Imagine what they would have missed out on if they had declined Jesus’ invitation and remained in their boats! Don’t get distracted by the things in life and miss the thing that God might be calling you to experience. Be intentional in creating balance in your life!