What warms your soul this time of year?

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Delta Airlines and Carnival Cruises were both printing money last week, escorting sun starved Northerners on their annual Spring Break worship rituals. Even after the wimpiest winter of all time, we reveled in five straight days of brilliant blue skies floating across the Eastern Caribbean.  There’s just something about soaking up the sun…

Early on the morning of our ‘day at sea’, I rushed the upper deck to secure and defend four strategically situated lounge chairs for the girls and me.   By 10 am Mother Nature used her giant vacuum cleaner to suck a couple thousand cruisers from their cabins to the upper deck surrounding me.  It was wall-to-wall, Sardine-style sun worshiping. Like Black Friday at Target…except that everyone was joyful and happy.

Mid-afternoon, I was forced into conversation with a woman next to me who asked: “Where y’all from?” My white belly and Twins hat told her I was a Northerner. Her accent and Braves visor caused me to ask “don’t you get sunshine in Atlanta this time of year?” Her reply: “Yes, we do…but Vacation Sun warms my soul.” “Alleluia” was my reply.

As I directed my church choir two days ago on Easter Sunday, I thought of the Atlanta bikini lady when we sang the beginning lyrics of our anthem:

Risen in glory, bright as the sun…Alleluia, Alleluia!

Easter is one of those magical Christian holidays – it’s as if the Father used a giant vacuum cleaner to suck thousands of families from their homes into church pews.  Unlike most Sundays, it’s wall to wall, Sardine-style Son-worshiping.  And everyone is so joyful and happy… For me, it’s another important Spring Break ritual.

Recently, many of the popular business and lifestyle magazines have been reporting on a wave of “happiness” research.  Woven into their findings are two appropriate themes for Spring break: people who take regular family vacations (regardless of cost), and consistently attend a place of worship are happier than people who do not.

Good leaders take time off to cultivate their family relationships and warm their souls with rituals.

Drop me a note: what warms your soul this time of year?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]