No Time for Leisure

I was reading an article today that called America the "No Vacation Nation." Basically, the article compared the vacation allotment — and how it's used — in America with other places in Europe and around the world. Seems we do things differently here.

In Germany, for example, employees typically get six weeks of paid vacation a year, commonly using two or three weeks at once. In many countries, paid vacation time is mandated by law. Sweden, which ranks above the United States in survey of competitive economies, legally mandates five weeks of paid vacation.

The article went on to say that, even if people in America take their one or two weeks of paid time, they're often expected to be checking e-mail and be available by web and by phone for emergencies.

I found myself identifying with that. I remember a few years back when I was at my last job working late into the evening several nights in a row to get things ready for me to be gone for five days. It's hard to break away and stay focused on being away.

The article noted that part of the reason stems from the fact Americans invest more in the need to invest in work as a key to creating success and fulfillment. I think that does account for part of the problem. Culturally, we seem to invest in the idea that work can and should become a central focus of our daily lives.

I started to think about that mentality in terms of the way we can allow the concerns of our lives to distract us from even the most important relationship in our lives — our relationship with God. I love the way Francis Chan talks about it in "Crazy Love," about how we make the small issues in our lives into major concerns and how that can keep us from having the kind of faith we want to have.

That, in part, is what the Oxygen Series is all about. We too frequently allow the worries and cares of our lives to bog us down, to leave us feeling trapped and breathless. But that's not how it's supposed to be. Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Sometimes we just need to take some space, push all the obligations and worries of our lives aside, and breathe.