Travel isn’t an escape, it’s worship

For a long time, travel was an escape for me. It meant leaving life behind for a while, getting far enough away that I could reset, recharge, and return to life the way it had always been. Travel gave me space from whatever I felt like I needed a break from.

But the past two trips I’ve taken haven’t felt that way at all.

Instead of only feeling excitement about going somewhere new, I’ve also felt a quiet dread about leaving my life behind. There’s a bittersweetness to it; getting to do something I love while also pressing pause on a life I genuinely love.

I was processing this with a friend last week, and she said something that stuck with me: “It’s because travel used to be an escape, and now it’s not.”

And she was right.

It’s not an escape anymore because, over time, I’ve worked hard to build a full life that I love. Brick by brick, I’ve built community. I’ve found purpose. I’ve filled my days with people and things that bring me life.

So now I’m learning to reframe travel, not as escape, but as worship.

When God created me, He knew I would love traveling. He knew I would love seeing new places and trying new food. He knew I would be drawn to architecture, art, culture, and history. All of it reflects His creativity.

There’s something about new scenery and unfamiliar places that brings something alive in me that otherwise lies dormant.

When I experience a new place, it feels like I’m seeing a new side of God. Encountering something He created that’s completely different from what I’m used to. It reminds me that He is immeasurably more powerful than anything I can comprehend, and far more creative than I often give Him credit for.

Travel is no longer an escape. It’s not about leaving my life behind long enough to recharge and return to something that doesn’t quite fit.

Now it feels more like stepping into something I was created for.

It’s seeing God in a new way, and returning home deeply grateful for the life I’ve built.

For a long time I thought the life I wanted would start someday in the future. But I am learning to live wholeheartedly today. Building community, discovering purpose, and becoming the woman God is shaping me to be; has changed the way I experience everything, even travel.

That’s a big part of the heart behind my Whole Hearted Prayer Journal, which helps women grow in faith and discover who they are. Living fully in the season they’re in while praying for something different.