What Makes for a Good Day?

After my recent episode at the end of a Sunday morning service (I wrote about it last week), it was decided I needed a break.

At first, I balked at the word “need.” I mean, a vacation is always nice, but need suggests some kind of deficiency. When I got to thinking about it, however, I realized it had been quite some time since I had a true vacation.

Last September, we took six days, but they were sandwiched between conferences, and, frankly, we both did some work on a couple of those six days. Last Summer, we got away mid-week for a few days of hiking and camping in Wisconsin. We were back by Sunday (although someone did speak for me).

And about a year ago, we took an awesome trip to Zion National Park and a few other interesting spots. However, there were some folks back home dealing with serious illnesses, requiring frequent communication and ongoing concern. All of that limits the effectiveness of “getting away.” No complaints, by the way…that’s the nature of the ministry.

As my wife and I talked this over, we tried to remember the last time we had a complete, extended break from the stresses of everyday life in the ministry.

Been a long time. Again, no complaints.…

So, maybe “need” was a good word.

But what to do on short notice?

In January, I had looked into the possibility of going somewhere warm for a week in March, but couldn’t find anything affordable, so I scrapped the idea.

The “episode” compelled a revisit, thinking maybe someone, somewhere needed to fill a last-minute vacancy. I never found that someone.

Conclusion? Forget somewhere warm and find somewhere close that would allow the opportunity for rest and refreshment.

Since it’s about two hours away, we finally decided to return to the Lake Geneva area where we had spent a couple of days between Christmas and New Years.

Looking at the weather forecast left me less than excited, frankly. Monday (our arrival day) was supposed to be a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures nearing 70 degrees. But Tuesday through Thursday, the remainder of our time there, looked downright miserable. Highs in the 40s, windy, rain—typical mid-March weather in the upper Midwest.

If you’ve read many of these posts, you know we like to spend time outdoors—albeit not in cold, rainy weather! So even though this getaway was supposed to be about getting rest, we determined to get to our destination on Monday as early as possible to take advantage of the weather.

Which, being interpreted means, “go for a hike.”

We arrived by lunchtime, got a bite to eat, and headed to the Geneva Lake South Lakefront Path—just across the street from our hotel.

Someday, we’d love to hike the entire trail around the lake, but it’s about 23 miles total—too ambitious to tackle starting after lunch on a trip that’s supposed to be restful! On this lovely, warm first full day of Spring, we opted to walk as far as we could in a reasonable amount of time and turn around.

There was no hurry; the pace was leisurely. Our senses took in the smells of thawing ground…the warmth of the sun…the amazing architecture of lakeside mansions new and old…the occasional chill of the breeze scraping across a thin layer of ice holding onto the lake’s surface…the chirping of the birds and gentle lapping of water against the shoreline…the buzz of chainsaw clearing away winter’s debris…the high-pitched whir of a circular saw and the rhythmic pounding of hammers as carpenters toiled away on new construction.

The conversation was light. We often found ourselves commenting on a home as we walked by—what we liked about this one, why we didn’t like that one, the unusual deterioration of an otherwise grand one, the ostentation of another. Speculation on the cost of ownership, the taxes, the upkeep. Debating whether we’d accept it if someone offered to give us one particular house that neither of us really cared for—after all, location, location, location!

“Ah yes,” says I, “but what about the taxes and utilities, not to mention maintenance! And look at the yard work required!!”

Nine miles later, we were back at the hotel deciding what to do about dinner.

After a simple dinner and a couple hours of relaxation, the day was over.

It was a good day.

As expected, Tuesday dawned cold and foggy, with a light drizzle creating miniature ripples in the otherwise still water of the marina across the lawn from our room.

There was neither desire nor hurry to venture outdoors. So we didn’t. I went to the café to fetch some coffee and breakfast snacks, which we ate in the room.

We read. We discussed what we were reading. Read some more. Watched a video related to the chapter in our book. We discussed some more.

Several hours later, we drove to the northeast end of Lake Geneva to the town of the same name for an early dinner in true “senior citizens” fashion! Another leisurely dinner we lingered over.

The evening ended with some brief pool time, some more reading, some more discussion.