I’m writing this as I’m attending two back-to back conferences, one in Milwaukee and one in Chicago. Whenever I travel, I’m intentional about five things. These things have been cultivated over the years ever since I started traveling for work back in 1997.
1. Connecting with my family
I still remember my first major business trip. It was February 1997 to Denver, Colorado. It was taking place a few months before our first child was born. I still remember seeing Deanne, in her third trimester, looking out the big airport windows waving goodbye to me as I was waving goodbye to her from my window seat. That moment was the first time I really felt torn from my family. Since then I made a commitment to communicate with my family on a daily basis when traveling because it was, and still is, difficult to be apart from them.
Over time communications became easier. In the late 90’s cellular phones made it convenient to talk everyday and now with the internet I can do live video chatting. One of the first times I did live video was in 2007 when I was in Israel on my HP laptop with USB camera. I would be in the hotel lobby early in the morning talking with my family as they were getting ready for bed. Today it’s much easier with the iPhone and Facetime.
I do this because it’s important for me to connect with my family daily, rather than waiting until I get back from the trip and talk. On a daily basis I can encourage, correct, catch-up, and laugh. It also helps make the time apart feel shorter.
2. Posting pictures to Facebook
Not everybody on Facebook needs to know where I’m at or what I’m doing. But there are three people who need to know…my family. Therefore we started our own secret Facebook group which only has four members. It is here I’m posting all sorts of pictures…what I’m seeing, what I’m eating, what I’m doing. And I love that it posts in real time so that when I’m at a meeting, I’ll post a picture of it so they know what I’m doing at that instant. Or when I’m eating, they can see what I’m having. (I started posting pictures of my food because when my kids were young they would always ask what ate. Taking pics of my meals has become such a habit I still do it today.) The pictures also help cut down the repetitiveness during the conversations; instead of describing what I ate to each person, they can see it on Facebook.
There’s another reason I do this…to stay accountable to my wife. I sometimes post boring pictures but it’s so Deanne knows where I’m at and what I’m doing. She never asked for this but I wanted to let her know that I was safe and doing what I was supposed to do. (It’s also a way to let her know I’m eating my vegetables.)
3. Resting and eating well
In the past, it would be real easy for me to get over-busy from morning to night when traveling. By the time I got back to Hawaii I would be exhausted and no good to the family for several days, as they’ve been anxiously waiting for me to get home and start doing things with them again. Therefore I decided to curtail some of my activities while on the road. I’m intentional about taking naps in the afternoon, even if it’s a short power nap. I go to bed at a decent time so I have time to meet with the Lord in the morning. I’m intentional about eating well, making sure I eat balanced meals, staying away from fast food and buffets. Nothing is worse than being on an airplane feeling sick for five or more hours because I didn’t rest or eat well.
4. Praying over the city
This is something I learned in 2007 when I went to Israel. During the trip, travelers were constantly encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6). I took that principle and started doing the same thing in the cities I visited. Whatever city I’m in, I will pray something like, “Lord, this is your city. I pray for its people to glorify You. I invite Your presence into this city to make Yourself known.” I will do this during my morning prayer times, when I explore the city, and meet its people like waiters/waitresses, cashiers, and lobby personnel.
5. Meeting with people
Back in 1997 I was attending the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. I also knew there were some authors of books I read living in the area. So I wrote to them letters asking if they had time for a meal or coffee. Two responded in the positive – one took me out to lunch and another invited me to his house for cookies and lemonade. (I’m still in contact with one of them; we have breakfast every other year when he visits Hawaii.) Since then I’ve made it a point to connect with authors across the U.S. to learn from them.
Questions to Think About:
What are some things you are intentional about when traveling?
© Gary Lau 2012
All rights reserved. This article may not be distributed, forwarded or duplicated without prior permission from the author.
Leave a Reply