Trinity Church in Knebworth

offers you a warm welcome

Are you having a holiday this summer? What sort of holiday will it be? 

A lot of people in these days, I guess, think of a holiday as something you buy; it costs money! But suppose you can’t afford to pay out for a ‘holiday’? Does that mean you lose out? Is there no other way for respite from work and normal routines? 

Holidays were originally ‘holy days’. They were times for people to be away from their usual labours so that they could have time for celebrations appropriate to a religious festival. Nowadays, in Britain at least, we have a number of public holidays that do not relate to any religious commemoration. Does that matter? 

One of the things I’ve discovered in ‘retirement’ is that retirement doesn’t actually mean that work stops, even if I don’t get a salary any more! If I were to attempt to live just for pleasure, pleasure would become work and I would actually get no respite!  

Whatever stage of life you and I have reached, we need to find spaces and times in which we get a complete break from work, stress and routines. Call it a time for recreation and being at peace, if you like!  Having times to relax and to be free from the strains and stresses of life remains important – even in retirement! Then, perhaps, I can begin to find more time to focus on the God who offers me peace and well-being. 

Yes, the best holiday is the one that gives me opportunity to reconnect with God and hear him speaking to me. Perhaps a good holiday is still a ‘holy day’ after all!

Richard Dyster