God at Work During Vacation
By Hannah Lewandowski
Vacations, in my mind, have always been about me and about doing a whole lot of nothing. Over the last couple of years, the Lord has been tenderly whispering the convicting truth, “your life is not your own, it’s not about you”, to which I initially responded in selfish desire, but now find myself repeating this phrase over and over, especially when things are hard. So, with a vacation ahead on the calendar to look forward to, I knew that for once, my time off wouldn’t and couldn’t be “off”, for God is always at work, and what a joy it is to partner with Him, even when traveling across the world for some downtime.
Recently, I was on vacation in Portugal with one of my best friends. Our trip was truly glorious and often reminded me of the character of the God I know, love, and serve. Before and throughout the trip, I would pray to God, asking Him to use me for His kingdom and His glory while resting. For most of the trip, I was hoping for an opportunity to talk about Jesus to fall into my lap, and, surprise, there wasn’t one, mostly. A few days into the vacation, there was one Google translated conversation in an Uber ride from English to Portuguese with a man who was recently divorced, and his wife won full custody of his beloved daughter; he was heartbroken. We got to be sad with him, but also ask him if he knew about Jesus and the comfort He alone could provide. During this 3 am Uber ride, we told him we were praying for him, and briefly witnessed to Him the ultimate peace of our King. I don’t know how that story ends, but God was at work. We made ourselves available. We found the words because we rested in Him. Yes, we are called to labor, but also to rest, to be filled by Him so that in our overflow we can pour into others.
“We made ourselves available. We found the words because we rested in Him. Yes, we are called to labor, but also to rest, to be filled by Him so that in our overflow we can pour into others. ”
Following this experience, we continued to bask in the Lord’s creation and beauty, feeling His presence and seeing His mighty hand at work throughout the Algarve coast. Lying on the sunny beaches, I kept thinking about this man from the Uber ride and his family. I kept remembering the times I divorced myself from God, allowing my sin to take full custody of me, and I was wrecked with emotion, realizing just how this separation breaks my Father’s heart. My Uber driver was distraught by being separated from his earthly daughter, working all hours of the day and night to afford a way back to her. That’s who Jesus is. The way our Father has made to overcome the gap breached between His children, His rebellious child whom He sought after, and died for, while I was choosing something, someone else. The splendor of experiencing scripture, and specifically, Psalm 8:4, which says, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” marked my time abroad. Who is like our God? What man is like Him? Whose character is as mighty and as deeply saturated in endless love? Who else would willingly die for me so that I might be saved, all the while I’m declaring war against the Heavenly realm through my sin?
Unbeknownst to me, sharing Jesus with people while vacationing wouldn’t stop there. God was at work before me, and in His loving kindness, let me be a part of His ministry of reconciliation.
Lying on the sunny beaches, I kept thinking about this man from the Uber ride and his family. I kept remembering the times I divorced myself from God, allowing my sin to take full custody of me, and I was wrecked with emotion, realizing just how this separation breaks my Father’s heart.
Seven days later, flying from Portugal back to Seattle over a series of three flights in a 30-hour travel day, I was still thinking about this Uber driver. Slightly less enthusiastic due to lack of sleep and travel stress, I remember telling God, “Hey God, I’m still open to being used by you on my vacation if you want”. Looking back, I didn’t need to tell God His will could be done, but I needed to remind my heart, amidst exhaustion, that my life isn’t my own, that I still choose to be a vessel for His glory. I don’t get to vacation from God and His will, and truthfully, and frankly, if it were even possible, why would I want to? My circumstances fall short of the sovereignty of my God.
As I walked what felt like three miles through the LAX airport to the final leg of my flight back home to Washington, I chuckled to myself, thinking how funny would it be if God were to use me right now; I smell awful, I’m starving, my lips have never been more chapped, I feel nauseous, and I just want to go home. Right when that thought crossed my mind, a man walked past me, entering the skybridge to get onto our plane. If I’m honest, I thought to myself, I hope I don’t have to sit next to him, he seems like a chatty Kathy. Sure enough, as I boarded the plane, I took a double-take at my boarding pass, to find my seat, 17A, was the very seat next to this man I had just judged in the hallway. Quickly, I murmured, God, I’m sorry for judging Him, but what are you doing?
I sat down, buckled my seatbelt, stowed my souvenir-ridden backpack under the seat in front of me, and was greeted by this man. He introduced himself, asked my name, where I was coming from, where I was going, and what I did for work. I swiftly answered his questions and told him I worked for a collegiate church. And he responded, “Wow, I get to sit next to a minister of the gospel today, you gotta pray for me, young lady”, and again, in that moment, I knew God was at work, as He always is. I told him I loved Jesus, and he shared that he does too, but isn’t too sure about “following all the rules”. I told him I understood and let him ramble on. He needed someone to listen to him, and sometimes that alone is the ministry the people around us need. A listening ear, not a mouth of judgment or a tongue of hatred. He knows that I love Jesus, he knows that I am praying for him, and he now knows God is working in college students' lives. There is hope shared in the revealing of a very real and active God in our midst. Looking back, I wish I had shared with him the story of the Uber driver, the way that living separately from our Father, robbed by sin, breaks our Father’s heart. So much so that He, just like the Uber driver, would work endlessly to pay the price for us to be united once more. That is not a God of rules and regulations, but a God whose love overcomes all things. Now, commandments and “regulations” found in scripture aren’t to rob us of joy, of the “good life”, but are there to deliver us into freedom as we operate in our design, united with Christ. I pray that this man on the plane is so overcome with the love that God has for him, the “rules” holding him back from a deep relationship with his Creator no longer inhibit his mind from believing that God is entirely for him and always has been. I pray the same for you.
“Now, commandments and “regulations” found in scripture aren’t to rob us of joy, of the “good life”, but are there to deliver us into freedom as we operate in our design, united with Christ.”
The next time you’re on vacation or in a plane or riding alongside an Uber driver, remember that your vacation, your trip, wherever you are, there is ultimate rest in serving Him, in dwelling in His presence, in giving up yourself so that others may know Him. That is worth it. That is a vacation you’ll never forget. That is better than the silence of a car or plane ride, where I choose myself, the book I’m reading, or the sleep I long for. You must long for Heaven most.
