HAMMOCKS AND HIBERNATION CAYMAN STYLE (November 27 - December 25, 2016)

After all the busyness of moving what few belongings we have from Florida to Indiana, of finishing out my Revival schedule, of the two weeks in Tennessee with friends and family, it was time to "crash".  It was time to hibernate Cayman style.

We, once again, managed to fly standby with no difficulty and fly from Nashville through Atlanta to Georgetown, Grand Cayman.  The tropical air when we exited the plane reminded us that we weren't in Tennessee any more where the temperatures had been in the 40s and 50s.  Frankly 80 degrees felt mighty good.  We were picked up at the airport by the pastor of the church we attend while on the island and deposited at the Morritt's Tortuga Club resort in East End.

One thing you need to know about the East End of Grand Cayman Island is that it is no 7 mile beach.  Where the resort sits is on a quiet cove with a wonderful white sand beach but there are no surrounding huge resorts/hotels or any of the touristy shops and pricey eateries.  It is a laid back, peaceful, out of the way place.  Perfect for hammocks and hibernation. 

And hibernate is exactly what we did for four full weeks.  

REFLECTIONS

Our lives are filled with a certain cadence, a certain format.  Our days are pretty much 16 on and 8 off.  Our weeks, as per God's instruction are pretty much 6 on and 1 off.  Why should not our hours, our months, our years be the same?

We live in a hectic world. We push through our hours and days trying to stay ahead of the things that demand our time and energy.  We need to find a way, a time, a place to "center down", a place to step away, a place to hibernate.

I have, for many years, tried to find a spot every day to just "be still and know that He is Lord", a place to ease my mind and enjoy His creation, a place prepare my body and soul for the day ahead.  Being a pastor for 40 years, I tried to carve out a "Lord's Day" each week, a day for just relaxing in His care and worshiping His goodness.

Now with retirement it is my hope to each year discover a place where we can just "chill" (bad term to use for Cayman). 

I believe, that for our own spiritual, mental, and physical health we need those "down" times and we need to guard them with a passion.  Without them we make bad choices, risk health problems, and ignore our spiritual person.

So, Cayman it was.  we did little but it helped us much.  Thank God for hammocks and hibernation.