Tag Archives: one of the paths to peace is through recreation

Path to Peace – Recreation

How was your Memorial Day weekend? (Note to our international readers: Memorial Day is a national day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service, our fallen heroes. It was declared a national holiday in 1971.)

Was your day meditative as you reflected on those who have given their lives to secure and preserve the freedoms we enjoy today? For many it is much the same as any other day. But for millions of Americans it is a time to reunite with family and friends.

You might be surprised to know that one of the paths to peace is through recreation. What comes to mind when you think about recreation? Watching or playing sports or music, attending art events, watching a movie, playing games, reading, shopping, partying with friends and family, or vacations to favorite destinations? I wonder how many times we miss the intent of recreation because we ‘mispronounce’ the word. If you’ve ever come back more worn out and frustrated from a vacation or family reunion than when you started, you understand the meaning of “wreckreation.” If you’ve watched a movie to “veg out” and find you’re not more relaxed than when you began, you understand too. Americans are famous at ‘wreckreating’. We are a ‘wreckreation nation’. But recreation (re-creation) involves participating in those activities that recreate us and restore our soul. They lift us emotionally, physically, and spiritually to a higher level than we were before. They recharge our batteries. It’s possible you might find ways to recreate in the same ways others ‘wreckreate’.

Here’s a practical way to apply this principle of restoration:
Take a sheet of paper and make three columns. In the first column make a list of things you do to ‘wreckreate’ that actually drag you down. In the middle column, list the things you already do that lift you up. In the last column, add to your list new things you might consider trying for thirty days to expand your re-creation skill set. For example:

  • Take a walk by yourself or with a friend
  • Start a daily journal of your thoughts and insights
  • Plant a few flowers and take care of them
  • Watch only uplifting movies
  • Read an inspirational/encouraging book
  • Read the Gospel of John
  • Take your spouse or child to a restaurant where you have to look down, not up, at the menu 😉
  • Have a normal conversation with God once (or throughout) the day

You get the idea. Enjoy some time investing in your (and your family’s) recreation on your path to peace with God.

“Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” – Jesus, Matthew 11:28