Reverb 10: Day 10 - Wisdom

Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:

December 10 – Wisdom

Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

(Author: Susannah Conway)

 I think the wisest decision I made this year was to take a vacation.

By the time the end of August rolled around, it had been quite the year.  I'd injured my shoulder falling down a icy flight of stairs, re-injured it exactly three weeks later in a car accident that totaled my car, lost my roommate to another country, eaten humble pie and at 27 years of age moved into my grandma's basement to save money, discovered that all was not as it seemed in the living situation at grandma's and begun to negotiate a truly wild rollercoaster, bought a new (to me) car, discovered that my insurance company made a colossal mistake and under-quoted me by four thousand dollars a year, sold the car that I could no longer afford, navigated the challenge of changing family dynamics when my brother got married, lost a job that I'd had for three years, made a decision on the career path I felt God was leading me to pursue, and spent two and a half intensive months completing two courses towards that career path - course normally completed over eight months and four months respectively.  I was facing an influx of still more challenges, and desperately needed an escape and a place to rest.

The wisest decision I made was to act on that.  To give myself a week or two away from the job hunting, and the studying, and the worrying about money, and take a vacation.

The wisest decision I made in the process of making the decision to take a vacation was to go someplace new.  The total change of scenery was brilliantly helpful as I spent a week resting, laughing, meeting some new friends, trying some new foods, experiencing new places, and ultimately talking with God about what comes next.

I made decisions on that trip that are changing and shaping not just the way my future will play out, but who I am as a person.  I believe that week's escape was the place where, through conversations with a friend, and prayer, I was able to give myself permission to heal.  To take steps to become whole.  To begin the process of building something new in the place of all that had been torn down.  I'm so grateful for that week away, for the friend who welcomed my messy, exhausted, broken self into her home, and introduced me to her world, helped me to laugh, and showed me around a place where palm trees grow outdoors, and not just in the zoo! 

In fact, one of the silly memories that stands out the most from that trip is standing next to my friend in a driveway we were walking up, and sniffing the air, identifying a sweet, flowery, warm smell.  I stopped in my tracks and told my friend that I had never smelled this sort of scent outdoors before - only in the indoor botanical gardens at my beloved zoo!  She laughed pretty hard at that, and I still giggle every time that thought crosses my mind!

Taking a vacation and allowing myself time to laugh at silly things, and marvel at a totally new landscape was the wisest decision I made this year, and I'm so glad I made it!