Good news and Bad news

Today's headline in our local paper was not encouraging to a family like ours, with the husband in finance laid off and looking for work- Bank of America to cut 3500 jobs!
Oh goody. Now the glut of jobs in finance that numbered about 0 last week will be negative 3500. The good news is, God specializes in impossible odds. The bad news is I was already a little worried.
Fortunately, our yearly beach vacation is locked in, and already paid for. We can run away and hide our heads in the sand for a week...in deep, white Hilton Head sand. Dog sitters are lined up, neighbors watching the house, car packed.... we run away tomorrow.

Fourteen years ago, we went to a free weekend on Hilton Head, with a little catch. We had to listen to a Time Share sales pitch. We thought it was worth a free weekend at the beach. The problem is, they were very convincing, and the weekend ended up being far from free. We bought the timeshare. This was so out of character for my conservative, frugal, careful husband that my sister, Holly , told me the timeshare buy was more of a shock than my news that at age 40, after 9 years of thinking babies were no longer in our future, I was pregnant.

But, for the past fourteen years, our family has had a guaranteed, glorious week at the beach, at a 3 bedroom palace. Back then, I had no idea that kids really did grow up and move away, and develop a life that was separate from Mommy and Daddy. They were always there, and it just seemed they always would be.

Of course, that is not how it works. Sadly, I know that now. But one of the most wonderful things we did together every year, as a family, was spend that week with each other on the beach. Financially, I am pretty sure it was not the smartest move we ever made. But in other ways, it gave our lives a common memory of joy that I hope will shore us up when times are not so merry, or when we are scattered far afield. We would have always found reasons why we should not have spent the money for such a wonderful vacation. Instead, we knew that no matter what else was going on in the world, we would have that week together watching the sun set over the ocean, the dolphin leap in the early morning surf, and the warm sand tickle our toes as we constructed giant sand sculptures together.

3500 jobs cut. I threw the paper aside. I have packing to do, and sometimes it is best to snatch joy while you can. It is the gift of God, and should not be disdained.

Ecclesiastes 8: 15
¹⁵ So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.