The idea of taking a vacation can oftentimes send us into a state of panic. It’s the cost of the trip – extra money that we quite frankly just don’t have. It’s the logistics of figuring out which airline to fly with, which hotel to stay at, and what to do once we get there.

The truth is, however, that you can have an amazing vacation without all of that stress. A vacation doesn’t always have to be some over-the-top uber-expensive trip. It doesn’t even mean you have to book a flight or arrange a car rental. It doesn’t have to include passports and double-checking VISA requirements.

In its simplest form, the definition of vacation means a period spent away from home for leisure and recreation.

Nowhere in that definition does it say that a vacation is stressful, must cost a fortune, requires flying, or produces Instagram-worthy photography.

This past Memorial Day weekend looked a bit different than it has in the past. Typically, an extended 3-day weekend has always meant days packed full of boating, cookouts, and pool parties. This time, however, it meant a much sought-after vacation to relax and visit with family.

It would be a simple road trip up to Charlotte, North Carolina to spend a few days with family. We wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel, nor would we have to spend a fortune eating at restaurants for every meal. We wouldn’t even have to worry about what we were going to do each day.

What the weekend would include, however, is a whole lot of laughing, a decent amount of eating, and even a little bit of crying – but happy tears, not sad ones.

A Picture Perfect Morning

Perhaps being classified as a “Millennial” should mean that I don’t find any enjoyment in sitting on a porch drinking coffee with no wi-fi signal, but the truth is, I do. The second morning of our stay blessed us with an absolutely beautiful morning. The kind of morning that reminds you of what truly matters in life. And at that moment, what truly mattered was a piping hot mug of coffee in my hand, the sound of birds singing in the breeze, and the family who I had sitting next to me. 

Deciding that the weather was just too amazing to let pass-by we took our coffee cups with us as we found seats on the back patio. The coolness in the air combined with the gentle breeze blowing in from the north provided the perfect contrast to the hot cup of coffee I was holding. I couldn’t help but also pay attention to the contrast in sounds that filled the air.

The Quietness of the Morning

It takes moments like this to make me realize just how noisy life is back at home. I don’t live in any big bustling city by any means, but the back of my home does face a busy roadway with barely any buffer in between. In complete contrast, sitting on the back porch of my relatives’ home I couldn’t hear any traffic.

The only noise I could distinctively pinpoint was the distant sound of a train moving through town. And in some way, the soft chugging sound against the backdrop of the quiet morning air was quite peaceful.

The Sound of the Morning’s Birds

I’ll be the first to tell you that birds aren’t my thing. Perhaps it was that infamous movie, “Birds”, or being emotionally traumatized by visiting an aviary on a family vacation up north, but either way, me and birds just don’t jive with one another. I can only assume to some people it was pleasant and relaxing, walking through the various atriums with their glass ceilings and lush tropical vegetation while listening to the sounds of the various bird species. For me, however, it was a scene right out of a nightmare!

Those beautiful birds had me pegged as their next victim I just know it! As I darted for the safety of the door those man-eating beasts were swooping and soaring right over my head! It was no place that should be allowing people to enter without an adequate warning of what could happen. Such trauma is truly life-altering. 

With that being said, it may seem rather ironic that I adore the sound of birds singing, especially in the morning. Occasionally I’ll wake up to the sound of a little bird singing away outside of my bedroom window and it just seems to set the stage for a good day. It’s just so relaxing, and so incredibly peaceful that you can’t help but smile.

Outside of my relative’s home with a backdrop of woods the sound of birds filled the air. My family identified the birds based on the size of their bodies, the shapes of their beaks, and the color of their feathers. As they would swoop down, grabbing a bite of bird feed or seeming to be playing with the others they could tell which ones were the males and which were the females. They were in awe at the beauty in the rich vibrant orange color that encompassed one particular bird’s beak and the front of its chest. 

I Saw my Beauty in their Song

For me, none of that too much mattered. It’s not that I didn’t care to know what colors the various birds were. It was that sitting there I found my beauty in their song. It has taken me a long time to adjust to a world in which my ears not only hear the world but see it too.

Color is still important to me. Visual aspects of the world still matter to me. I still want to know what shade of blue my shirt is or if my shorts are light khaki or dark for instance. But over time I’ve adjusted to this new world, this world that is made alive not by the vibrant orange of a bird’s beak, but by the distinct sound of its song.

It’s how it swoops so close to my head that I can almost feel the wind move that makes me see the fierceness in his shape. It’s the melody that floats through the air as he sits, singing from a limb high atop a tree that tells me he is beautiful. It’s the silencing of all the other birds that tells me he is powerful.

All around us, God’s blessings were forever present in the moment. 

As beautiful as this experience was, I would be remiss to say there was nothing else at play in making this morning so special. With a cup of coffee in hand, we talked about a lesson taken from a devotional. We read scripture together. We discussed our varying opinions on how God works in our lives. And we were reminded of God’s beauty all around us with the delightful presence of a few tiny little hummingbirds with their ferociously flapping wings sitting motionless in the air, sucking nectar from the feeder.

None of us know why certain things have to happen in this life. There is so much pain, so much suffering, so much loss. Yet in a moment like this, all of that was forgotten. With the world around me fell silent, and the very air I breathed standing still I couldn’t help but feel the comforting arms of our creator wrapped around us. Just as a parent embraces their child, I believe our creator is embracing us. His presence is there, sometimes you just have to stop, grab a cup of coffee, and let yourself enjoy the sweet sounds of the morning’s birds to feel it.