We hustle. We bustle. Our lives are arguably the most busy they have ever been in history. Computers, email, smart phones, 24/7 internet access, automobiles ... the light bulb! All of these things help our productivity potential be greater than ever before, but what about our potential with God? Are these things helping us get more connected to God and the eternal things that matter most, or are they helping to distract us with greater effectiveness from the inevitability of death and our meeting the Creator?
In order for us to have a vibrant and intimate relationship with God we must get away from our normal environments and routines, and we must do this with some regularity (probably more regular than our annual vacation).
We see our Lord Jesus getting away from the crowds, from his disciples, and from his normal schedule in order to connect with and cry out to His Father in Heaven.
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Lk 5:16)
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Lk 6:12)
"Once when Jesus was praying in private ..." (Lk 9:18)
""Jesus ... took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray." (Lk 9:28)
"Jesus ... withdrew again to a mountain by himself" (Jn 6:15)
"Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, While he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on the a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land" (Mk 6:45-47)
Have you ever spent an entire day away from people with the Lord? Have you ever spent an entire night in prayer, study and meditation? Have you ever gone on an overnight personal retreat - for the sole purpose of drawing near to God? Sometimes people go years in the faith and have never done anything like this (and we wonder why our relationship with God might be stale, stagnant, joyless, and wearisome ... try being married for years without having any special time or special dates, and see if you feel any different in your marriage!)
Even if you are not an outdoors person (although there is something to be said for the spiritual connection that can happen in God's creation, c.f. Ps 65:8-13; Rom 1:20; etc.), you can still find creative ways to have special retreats to get away from all the distractions (make sure you don't take your phone, I know it's hard, but hey Jesus and his disciples often went without food!) and connect with God in meaningful ways that will help you to not only persevere in your faith (Heb 10:36), but to also have a faith that doesn't grow dimmer as the years go on, but a faith that burns ever hotter and brighter as you fan it into flame! (2 Tim 1:6)
This type of thing does not happen accidentally or all by itself, you must be intentional ... it's not as though your schedule will just miraculously open up! What a great use of some of your vacation days, or school break days this could be! You must plan it and decide to make it happen and that it is important enough for you to say "no" to something in order to do so. I know you won't regret it!