Spiritual Vacations—Is that a thing?
Chances are, when you think of spiritual practices, disciplines, or whatever you like to call them, vacation isn’t at the top of your mind. Naturally, we think of prayer, Bible reading, fasting—you know, the more serious ones. But we believe that spiritual practices aren’t always serious or somber. Feasting is just as much a spiritual practice as fasting. And play is the gateway to humility. (More on why playfulness matters here.)
So, as the kids are home on summer vacation, and so many families are packing up and heading out of town, we wondered—Is vacation a spiritual practice?
Admittedly, we don’t have a specific chapter or verse to prove this point. Still, we do have examples in Scripture of the Sabbath, as well as longer agricultural seasons of rest, that may be more Sabbatical. So hear us out.
With a little attention in the right direction, your vacation can be a spiritual practice.
The key is to pay attention. Think of it as a golden opportunity for a spiritual interruption. When you reframe vacation in this way, as an opportunity to stop your regular rhythms and allow God to interrupt you, you practice spirituality through vacation. Take note and you might just experience God or hear from Him in a new way.
In order to pay attention and practice spirituality through vacation, it’s time to listen, learn, and lean into new new experiences.
Ways to Set Your Vacation Up for Spiritual Success
1. It Doesn’t Have To Be The Best Vacation Every Time
Sitcoms have poked fun at Valentine’s Day and Anniversaries for years for this reason. There’s innate pressure to improve something that becomes a tradition year after year. And we know many parents who apply this pressure to vacation, trying to make each one the very best and then panicking when they don’t know how to top it next time. Or worse, feeling like a failure when those expectations aren’t met.
So, we’re here with your unnecessary permission slip to take that pressure off! It doesn’t have to be the best vacation every time. And if that’s where your primary focus is, we think you’re starting to lose sight of the overall goal of vacation—connecting with each other and paying attention to what God is doing in and around you.
When you take the pressure off of creating the best vacation every time, we’re confident you’ll be more invested in the small moments that can transform a trip into a meaningful and spiritual vacation.
2. Small Moments Can Be The Most Memorable
Here’s proof that small moments can be the most memorable: Talk to your kids. Ask your kids about their favorite vacation memories. They might be the big, exciting things you’d expect, but we’re willing to bet that their favorite moments are much smaller, simpler, and more integrated into the overall trip than you’d think.
It’s probably more like, “Riding the really fast elevator!” or “Eating ice cream together.” or even “Having free time and making a huge blanket fort with you.”
It may be tempting to throw your hands up and say, “But we can do all those things at home!” But don’t despair. And don’t forfeit the vacation. Something happens when you’re in a new place, together as a family, without work to distract you and drain your energy, that changes your dynamics.
You may not be adopting an entirely new persona while you’re on vacation (By all means, if you’re a Florida Stanley from The Office kind of person, don’t let us stop you!), but your kids will be the first to pick up on the change in pace and pressure. And that is what’s fueling those core memories that you’re building.
3. Give Yourself Grace
It sounds easy, but it is so difficult to put into practice. Pressure from your expectations and past experiences can sabotage your best vacation plans. When you release yourself from the pressure to perform, you allow yourself to start your vacation in the right place to hear from God—a place of humility and openness.
It’s true that giving yourself grace means your vacation might not look perfect in all aspects (at least, not according to social media standards.) But it doesn’t mean that you’re giving up in any way.
When you give yourself grace, you’re creating a space, not just for yourself, but for the whole family to relax and enjoy the moments as they come, with humility for all the imperfections along the way and gratitude for all the moments of joy.
So, will your typical quiet time look the same as it does in your best rhythms at home? Probably not, and that’s ok. You don’t have to carry a heavy Bible, concordance, and a prayer journal to have a spiritual vacation.
Lower your expectations for your capacity and give yourself grace as you consider your spiritual engagement while you’re away. That doesn’t mean ignoring your spiritual habits at home; instead, you focus in a specific way while you’re gone.
Pro Tip From GoodKind
Pick one way to engage with God each day of your vacation. Maybe it’s a time of journaling your prayers. Perhaps it’s choosing a passage of Scripture ahead of time and committing it to memory while you’re gone. Or maybe it’s reading a family liturgy each night before dinner. But pick one thing, not four or five.
Top 5 Ways You Can Practice Spirituality Through Vacation
Now that we’ve made the case that vacation can be a spiritual practice, if you have the right mindset, it’s time to learn how. This is the part where your attention matters. It’s not just about awareness but about slowing down enough to notice what God is doing.
Like anticipating Jesus at Christmas, turning your vacation into a spiritual practice is more about redirection—shifting your focus to the things that matter most. And the good news is, it’s easier than you think.
1. Don't Overbook Yourself.
The first and possibly most important way to make your vacation meaningful is to schedule it in margin. Before you leave, as you’re packing and taking care of the house, especially when you return, ensure you have more time scheduled than you think you need.
As those last-minute to-do list items pop up, having a little extra margin built into your schedule will help you kickstart or wind down your vacation in the right frame of mind.
Even on vacation, don’t forget to slow your pace. While you’re away, do not pack the schedule too much. When you have margin in the day, you invite creativity, curiosity, and maybe even some of your family’s most meaningful moments together.
2. Immerse Yourself in Local Culture.
Another way to invite the spiritual into your vacation is to immerse yourself in local culture. Wherever you are, recognize the hand of God in forming the people and the places you find yourself.
Eat local, check out what festivals may be happening, and converse with people you encounter. Wherever you are, invite God to speak through that culture and notice his goodness and creativity, even when things are new and unfamiliar.
3. Invite Your Friends.
We love our families, and an extended family vacation can be beautiful. But occasionally, we think it’s worthwhile to take a vacation with close friends. It’s a different dynamic that allows for a different type of interaction, and we know from experience that it can have a lasting impact.
There’s something about time away with friends that can be lower stakes and open you up to shared experiences and camaraderie. And we think that’s a great recipe for spiritual conversation.
Maybe not every time, but at least some of the times, we think that God does his most impactful work through the presence of close friends who speak the truth and ask the right questions.
4. Have a Sit-Down Dinner with the GoodKind GratiKube.
It’s like Thanksgiving but so much better. There’s no pressure, everyone has fun, and no one has to eat dry turkey! We made the GoodKind GratiKube to add variety and thankfulness to our daily table conversations. A bonus is that it’s the perfect size to travel with!
Throw it into the corner of your suitcase and pull it out at least once at a special, sit-down meal with everyone on vacation. Take turns rolling the GratiKube and express your gratitude based on the prompts shown. It’s so simple, but we promise you’ll walk away remembering that meal because of it.
5. Capture Memories You'll Remember.
No one is more surprised that this made our list than us. But as much as we advocate for screen-free time and limiting the use of technology on vacation, we may have course-corrected too much. We often regret not taking more pictures—at least pictures with everyone present in them. And so it might be the case that to make your vacation meaningful, you need to remind yourself to pull out the phone and take special photos to look back on.
Sure, that isn’t the case for everyone. And if you’re still looking to enjoy screen-free time, we are all for that! But here’s what we’re after: Tangible reminders that the whole family will use to look back on your trip fondly.
Need an example? Perhaps you have a family tradition of collecting magnets everywhere you go. Make a big deal out of it! Get everyone in on selecting the new magnet and make a ceremony out of adding it to the fridge once you’re home.
Whatever your family does, ensure you pay attention to the memories you’re making—collecting magnets, taking pictures, creating a song together—so that you’ll remember them and thank God for them down the road.
The Bottom Line: Spiritual Vacations Matter. Make Them Meaningful!
We know that vacations are important. And if you’re anything like us, you look forward to them weeks ahead of time.They’re like a mini-Christmas—all the anticipation is there, and if you’re honest, the pressure, too. But reframing vacation as a spiritual interruption and listening to God during that time away is the best way to take your vacation from forgettable to meaningful.
Take these practical steps to simplify your vacation, relieve the pressure, and find unique ways for your family to make time together memorable. It will look different for everyone, but with these shifts in your approach and intention, we believe vacation might be the spiritual practice your soul is hungry for.