Dear American Vacationer -

Congratulations are in order for our great nation - on our recent accomplishments regarding our time off: we American workers are simultaneously at the bottom of the Global list for vacation time offered - and we’re at the top of the list for workers who throw those vacation days away.

Yes, the majority of Americans end the year with unused vacation time. And even when we go on vacation, a large percentage of us work while we’re gone.

We would think that this would solve our problem - that 40% of us feel overworked. Half of us feel like we have too much work to finish in a typical week. Two-thirds of us report not having enough time with our spouse, and three-quarters of us report not having enough time with our children.

We can thank grinding corporate policies and a fearful workforce that play no small role in keeping us ‘on’ even when we’re supposed to be ‘off.'

And so this summer, I won’t ask us to disconnect on vacation - rather I’ll ask us why you don’t.

Is it the fear someone will take our job? 

Are we perfectionists whose self-images are too wrapped up in our work?

Is our ‘busyness’ a societal badge of courage, or a way to hide our vulnerabilities - because to "slow down" means we’ll have time to face who we really are?

This Sunday Mary will sit at her house guest, Jesus’ feet, and Martha will be distracted by many tasks.

Jesus will chide Martha and commend Mary.

We know vacations are good for us - what keeps them from being better?