Runaway Place

When our children were younger, I had a dear friend who would call to tell me that she was running away to the WalMart parking lot for some “Mommy time.”  The first time she called to tell me this I just laughed and said, “Ok.”  Later, I went to WalMart and there sat my friend in her car having a good Mama cry. 

Well, I have not run away to the WalMart parking lot, but I have run away.  A few years ago my husband went to work for the AR Baptist Convention.  Because of school and my work, my two teenage sons and I stayed behind in the town where my husband had served as pastor.  We were to move at the end of May.  Our family was basically separated for almost six months.    Now trying to raise two teenage sons, who did not want to move and who were at the age that they got on each other’s nerves, was not fun.  Stress piled up. 

One day the boys were fighting.  Actually, it sounded like a war.  My nerves were shot and I made a decision.  I was running away.  I grabbed my keys,  my purse and headed for the door.  I stopped where the teenage war was raging and said calmly, “Food is in the pantry and refrig.  I am running away.”  Before I closed the door, my sons fighting ceased and I saw bewilderment on their faces.

As I hit the road I called my best friend in town and told her that I was running away for a while.  She laughed and assured me that she would make sure the boys were taken care of.  (Don’t you love girlfriends like this?  They fully understand when you need to “Mama runaway” for a while).

After an hour or so of driving around and crying my heart out, I returned home.  I felt better and knew God was in control.  My sons were a little relieved when I returned.  I wish I could say that I never ran away again but that is another story.

I look at Jesus and realize that He ran away from the crowds and disciples at times.  He had to in order to have real quality time with his Father.  Likewise, we need to runaway to unwind and relax in the Father’s arms.  I like to picture myself crawling like a little child in to the Lord’s lap and then nestling my face upon His strong shoulders. 

As mothers, wives, employees, etc, stress gets high and life gets hard.  Out of curiosity, I did ask a few ladies to share with me where their favorite runaway place was and here is what they said:

*a bathroom with a LOCKED door

*Catos or Sams

*Memory form bed

*jetted bathtub with candles

*the garden

 

My dream runaway place is a deserted island with a good book, a massive bag of M & Ms in a variety of flavors, and an extra large Diet Coke.  Only two things are allowed at my runaway destination:  girlfriends and lots of laughter.

 

So ladies, tell me where you like to runaway to when you have to escape the chaos of life?