Psalm 23:2-3,
“He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.”

Many people hit the road for the July 4th week to vacation.  If you’re a North Carolina girl as I am, it’s often a beach, lake or mountain trip.  AAA tells us that over 43 million Americans will travel over the Independence Day weekend.

If you’re one of the 43 million, I encourage you to not only pack your sunscreen, but your Bible as well!

Vacations are a wonderful opportunity for a physical break from our day-to-day activities and rest for our bodies.  But we don’t want to neglect the rest our souls desperately need.  If we neglect time for spiritual rest, our souls will be just as weary upon return as when we left.

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to get up early before anyone else and spend time reading my Bible.   This time connects my heart to Jesus – refreshing my soul from the demands, anxieties and worries of life.  And my surroundings – usually that of a beach –  allow me to ponder God’s amazing creation.

I may watch a beautiful beach sunrise and be reminded that the Bible says: “His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise.” Habakkuk 3:4.

Or I might marvel at the waves and imagine God commanding them at creation: “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt.”  Job 38:11  Truly, it’s amazing that the water halts at the shore.

Or I think of Nemo, one of my all-time favorite movies.   When I consider all the creatures that live in the ocean, Genesis 1:21 often comes to mind: “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kind.”

And when I reflect upon the depths of deep blue ocean, I’m reminded that God has “…journeyed to the springs of the sea and walked in the recesses of the deep.”  Job 38:16 or

“There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small.”  Psalm 104:25. 

God also says much about the greatness and splendor of the mountains in His Word too.

So whether it’s the beach, mountains or lake you might be headed to over the 4th, don’t forget to pack your Bible, and make time to sit beside the quiet waters of wherever you may be.  It’s there that the Lord restores our souls and gives us a fresh vision of His greatness.