We are in the middle of August while summer continues for all of us, breaks from school are ending this week for some. Others may wait to begin school until after Labor Day but our time for vacation is either over or fast becoming. Those who work year round understand that if they want a vacation this summer, they had better get busy planning.

Vacations are a splendid thing. Taking time to rest and relax, spending time reconnecting with family that can be so very rewarding. There are times when vacations turn into, driving too many hours in a day, bug bites, sun burn, tempers flaring and the need for a vacation to recover from your vacation.

Oft times, in the summer, we take “a vacation from church.” We take advantage of an extra hour of sleep, or a quick weekend getaway. Too often, that “vacation from church” gets more and more permanent. We don’t go back. We get used to the extra sleep. I want to challenge us all to take “a vacation to church.”

It’s not the beach. It’s not a weekend on the coast. It’s not Cedar Point. It’s not a week at the AirBnB. What it is, is an opportunity for us to relax in God’s presence. It is an opportunity for us to spend time reconnection with God and with our sisters and brothers in Christ. It is a time for us to find renewed strength and a sense of purpose as God’s love flows down over us. Spending time in church holds all the things we look for in a vacation.

So, let us take “a vacation to church.” Waking up a little early is something we do on vacation all the time. Finding your seat, talking to those around you, lending you voice in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, these are the parts that help our vacation take root. Listening for God in the worship, being fed by God’s love, these are all things that helps us discover the joy in this “vacation.”

As August moves quickly to its ending, I challenge us all to take “a vacation to church.” Discover your opportunity to reconnect and recharge that can only come in the presence of the God who loves you all.