The Worst Vacation

[Jesus said to his disciples,] “Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Luke 12:33-34 (NRSV) 

Once when sitting around with my teenager and their friends, the conversation turned to the topic of your worst vacation, ever. They told stories about rained-out days at the beach, missed airplanes, and cars breaking down on the hot summer highway. There were stories of animals breaking into the food at a campsite and cousins breaking arms falling off playground sets. But oddly enough, the mood in the room got brighter and lighter with every story. You could tell that these stories of vacations gone wrong were more alive in their minds than the perfect vacations where things went as planned.  

When we plan a vacation, we have a vision of how it is supposed to go—a vision often shaped by the consumer culture around us. A free copy of a travel magazine is suddenly being sent to my house. Each time it arrives in the mail, I want to lie on the beaches they show on the cover and eat at the restaurants they feature. But none of this is in my near-future. I need to cancel that free magazine because it is costing me too much, in terms of packaged fantasies that distract me from my real life. 

Back in real life, I laugh with those fourteen-year-olds, remembering my own misadventures from childhood vacations: ten cousins packed in a van with no air-conditioning, heading out to the mountains on the hottest day of the year, and my mother who had chosen to wear high-heeled sandals and fancy jewelry for a six-hour hike. A bear approached us, and she used her jangly necklace to scare it away. It was a long day, and technically one where much went wrong, but we tell that story over and over again. 

Prayer
God, clear my mind of the fantasy of “perfect” and all the consumer yearnings I feel. Instead, let me build up a true treasure – memories of love, chaos, absurdity and adventure – to make me laugh in this life and beyond. Amen.

About the Author
Lillian Daniel serves as Conference Minister with the Michigan Conference UCC. She is the author of Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don’t Belong To and When “Spiritual But Not Religious” Is Not Enough.