Dear St. Luke’s,

Around Thanksgiving, I think of Interstate 75. Three times a year we would wake up at 4:00 am, get crammed into the family minivan, and head North from Georgia to see family in Ohio. We would sleep under heaps of blankets and pillows and generally wake up somewhere in Kentucky. For the rest of the trip, we would struggle to entertain ourselves. We would bicker, play car games that would last for hours, tell stories, and laugh. Being a child stuck in a car for that long felt like torture, but I longed for those long car trips. There was something beautiful about being held prisoner with the people I loved while being bored out of my mind, and on either end was a house full of love and food.

Those trips felt like forever, and at the time it never occurred to me they would eventually go away. I imagine the disciples often felt exhausted and frustrated while they were following Jesus. I wonder if they longed for a break where they could go fishing on the Sea of Galilee without Jesus turning the event into a miracle or profound lesson. I wonder if they ever complained to each other saying, “Can we just have one normal weekend?!” Then after Jesus was gone, they spent the rest of their lives trying to remember and spread the good news of those fleeting sacred years.

Regardless of whether or not you are traveling, I suspect there will be some stress in your lives as you enter the holiday season. Holidays are hard, the family can be hard and there will be moments when you crave normal times, but do not forget that in the midst of the stress, work, boredom, and long car rides, you could be in the midst of something beautiful, sacred and fleeting, so drink it in while you can.

Blessings,

Nick