(Wisdom Wednesday) Do You Take Time To Rest And Get Away?

In 2017, it was estimated that 54% of Americans left vacation days unused.  Americans left around 662 million days unused; 206 million of these were forfeited because they were not able to be rolled over to the next year.  Despite this, 96% of Americans say that it is important for them to use their paid time off.  If people believe it is important, why do they not follow through?  43% say it’s because they don’t want to return to a mountain of work, 34% say no one else can do their job, 33% say time off is harder because of seniority, 32% say they cannot afford a vacation, and 26% say they want to show complete dedication to their job.  For those who do take vacation days, many continue to answer phone calls, send emails, and do some work remotely. (These statistics were gathered from Project: Time Off and their study: The State of American Vacation 2017)

Vacation is important in a variety of ways.  According to the Framingham Heart Study, men who didn’t take vacation regularly were 30% more likely to have a heart attack, and women were close to eight times as likely to develop coronary heart disease.  It has also been shown that vacation time leads to decreased depression, it improves mental health, and it helps reduce stress.  Beyond health issues, taking vacation time also improves your relationships and increases your work productivity at your job when you get back.

I want to be quick to say, this is something I do not do well at all…  I would fall into the category of Americans who do not regularly take vacation.  Part of this may be related to being a single guy and spending the past five years working on my Master’s while working part-time, but the reality is I know I need to rest.  I have felt it at times, and not resting has often led to stress that I know was not good for my health.  Last week I took the first vacation I remember taking in a long time.  I went by myself to the mountains for four days and then visited my family in Virginia for the weekend.  It was difficult for me to get away.  People were emailing me, texting me, and messaging me, but I had determined before leaving that I was not going to reply unless it was an emergency.  I am now so glad I did this because the trip was incredibly refreshing!  I got to go on top of a mountain and spend time with God and his beautiful creation.  I visited the highest peak east of the Mississippi River and drove the majority of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  I came back feeling refreshed and ready to work again!

My encouragement to you is simply… TAKE TIME TO REST!  It is important for your health and your family.  And while you are vacationing, leave your work at home.  I believe God made work to be a good thing, but let’s not forget that he commanded the Israelite people to take a day of rest each week.  Even though we live in a different culture and time, I think this concept is still important today.  Make sure you take time to rest weekly, and set aside time to get away for a vacation.  You will thank yourself later!