Mancation

Shortly after I first arrived in Georgia I had to take off for Texas to go to a wedding. At the same time I left for Texas, Jason (my boss and friend) left for a “mancation.” It was a great concept. He went out to California, worked at The Ranch guiding white water rafts, and then he came back to civilization about a week later.

Ever since Jason took a mancation I had wanted to take one of my own. Well, for some reason the last month had been kind of a funk for me, and I can’t really explain it, but I really needed to take a vacation… or better yet, a mancation!

One of my good friends from Texas Tech lives in Colorado Springs and we had been talking about me coming to hang out for over a year now, so what better time to hit the mountains than ski season?

I really didn’t know how all of it would pull together, especially since I was broke and even had to ask my mom to wait a week before cashing a check that I had written her; but through some great people everything came together. Paul Robbins approved my vacation time, Anna Agee helped me get a flight through using some of her buddy passes with AirTran, Mrs. Ann unexpectedly gave me some spending cash, then Megan McLane provided an awesome couch to sleep on and used two of her buddy passes to reduce the cost of the ski lift tickets.

If it were not for all of these people then I would not have been able to pull off my first mancation. I am so thankful for each of them, and they probably have no idea how much it all meant to me.

Back to the funk... I was in desperate need for some spiritual refreshing, and the Colorado Rockies, in part, provided just what I needed. God has always had a way with my soul through the mountains, whether it is the Appalachians or the Rockies, there is something about the mountains that always seems to help me walk a little bit more in step with God. However, as awesome as the mountains were, they were not the main source of the spiritual refreshing God gave me.

What was it that brought me back? What revived my heart? What was it that brought joy to my spirit and soul? I believe God brought this to me through a genuine friendship.

God never intended us to walk through this life alone. I know there has often been the desire in my heart to retreat from this world and go live in the wilderness away from all the junk that life has to offer, but weekends like this bring me back to a greater knowledge of why God desires us to live in community with one another... why God doesn't want us to live out in the woods by ourselves.

Granted, money did provide the means to my mancation, but money did not provide the happiness.

The few days I spent in Colorado were filled with great community. Looking through pictures and using a thousand words to explain each one; covering miles of mountain roads while listening to great music; exchanging stories of lives lived thousands of miles apart; reminiscing on stories of old that brought back great memories; constantly fighting tiredness to squeeze the most out of every waking minute; taking picture after picture for future enjoyment; carving through the fresh powder of a recent snow and bombing mountains at intensely unsafe speeds; and all the while enjoying the company of a great friend while beginning a friendship with someone totally new. It was through these precious moments that God restored happiness to my soul.

Christ came that we might live life to the full, and one aspect he modeled this for us was through living life in true community. When we walk in step with how Christ modeled for us how to live then we walk closer to our maker. And when we are walking close to our maker there is a great refreshing to our soul… a refreshing that gives us a taste of the community we will have in heaven.

It is my prayer that I never take for granted the friends I have, and that I remain ever thankful to God for the moments where he gives us a taste of his glory. This week I tasted God’s glory through friendship, and I am thankful beyond words. The best words I can say is that my soul smiles because of the great friends God has placed in my life.

To all who have walked a season of life with me, or who are currently walking with me, I thank God for you. Thank you for being my friend.