As you all know I just returned from part one of my vacation, three weeks traveling to Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon hiking and visiting with family and friends. I usually try to take all four weeks of my vacation together but this year I could not do so as I had some commitments on each end of the summer in the parish and the diocese. I must confess the three weeks away was wonderful and rejuvenating for me physically, mentally, and spiritually. I am so ready for the year of ministry ahead.
I was surprised to be able to hike as much as I did after hurting my knee earlier in the year. I got to hike over 120 miles over the three weeks, most all of it smaller 5 to 10-mile hikes with steady inclines but no high mountain peaks! I just love walking and talking with God. What a gift to be able to walk in nature again and soak in God’s first spoken Word—creation!
One of the highlights for me was visiting Yellowstone National Park again. It has been nearly 20 years since I was there, and I had previously hiked most all of the trails over that 2-year period. Back then the devastation of the fires was apparent from the prior 10 years. But now most of the vegetation has grown back albeit young and small. And there were some new fires too and thus new devastation. But I hiked some new trails, and the views were spectacular in every way.
While the park was jammed-packed with people, I was deeply moved with how many young families were visiting together along with their extended families and hiking the trails. It was a welcome new development, and the children were without their cell phones and enjoying nature and each other’s companies. The constant buzz of children playing and laughing lifted my heart day after day. It was also true of the parks in Utah, Oregon, and Idaho. What a beautiful sound—children playing and laughing!
I hope that you also got away for some time with family and friends to enjoy the gift of love and friendship during the summer months. It is so important to steal some time away and relish each other’s company, shutting down the engines if only for a few short weeks. We don’t have to travel far to get the benefits of a vacation, and we don’t have to complicate things with expensive or expansive schedules, but simply wasting time with one another is good for the soul. If we learned anything from COVID, it is that we need community for our souls and time to replenish and renew our friendships. I pray you get some time away if you have not already done so and enjoy the gift of summer and time together.
For those of you who are not able to travel or go on vacation anymore, I hope you can recall the good times of your family vacations and let them continue to pay you memory dividends. Let’s keep on creating new opportunities to invest in memory dividends for ourselves and our families.
God Bless
Fr. Brendan