Summer Remembrance

Early morning temperatures dipped by almost ten degrees this weekend, 

as August bids its 2014 adieu. 

The cooler morning offered a delightfully fresh hint of the next season, though we all know we still have many more weeks of extended summer that is par for our region. None the less, there was this brief interlude, this breath of coolness, this nod to softer days of less light and a planet tipping away from the sun’s blaze. Summer’s green begins to take on that more rustic shade, edged with crisped, drying hues. Blooms are worn, somewhat ravaged by the boldness of summer. The new blossoms are unfolding smaller, dropping petals sooner, there satin beauty not lasting as long as their predecessors. 

We turn to one another and say, Where did it go? 

Every season we say that. 

Remember when we were celebrating those glorious buds opening at the ends of stems and marveling at the late-into-the-evening sunsets painted orange across the blue sky. Remember children in the pool for hours perfecting their under water skills, extending their bravery in the deep end, diving endlessly to retrieve rings thrown to the bottom. Tomatoes and watermelon have been sweeter these recent months and sweet corn is still fresh in the produce department. Remember the lazier mornings of summer with coffee on the back porch, serenaded by birds, entertained by squirrels, and occasionally visited by that resident rabbit who lives in the Indian Hawthorn hedge. We watched lizards scamper across the top of the fence and fledgling Blue Jays teeter on the edge of their nest outside the bay window. We have watched Herons catch fish as turtles basked on the pond’s banks and the Mallards floated endlessly. 

And though the events of the world were far less bucolic through this summer, it remains important to remember that which was abundant, that which was brimming with blessing and goodness. In every season harken back to treasures that came your way, whispered from the heavens by God’s grace to season your life with His love and provision.

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord...” Psalm 77:11

                                                                               * * *

Linking with these communities of writers:

Still Saturday

The Weekend Brew

Tell His Story

Unforced Rhythms

Click on the text link or any of their buttons listed below to ponder God's leading here on the internet.

Slower Steps {Learning to Take the Long Way Around}

Taking shorter steps, slower steps, allows the early morning breeze to be savored, its banking, soft approach is noticed, its reoccurring wisps of cooler threads do not escape attention and are a welcome surprise this deep into the August summer. Freedom to take the long-way-around offers the most shaded canopy branching wide, ladened with the season’s full foliage. 

Passing the homes along each block ...

I’m aware that they’re likely empty on a weekday morning, just as my own was during the years of scheduled and contracted productivity. Occupants are at their office, at their desks, on their computers, attending to agendas, checking off lists, collaborating, reaching for goals, gaining information, experience, livlihoods...globally, homes are empty and work is moving history along.

Still walking, slowly... 

I recall the physical pace of those productive years. From the moment of leaving bed in the predawn of each day, the work day steps were accumulated with only occasional interruption, until back at home, end of day dishes were done, bath and stories were done, and all needs for the next morning’s departure were collected at the door. Steps were rarely short and certainly not slow. On arrival to campus, those steps were purposefully taken in a circuitous route, calculated to complete efficiently as many tasks as possible along the way, often in the company of twenty or so young students and the coral-ing of their many steps.

Crossing the street to follow the shade and the bend of the tree lined curb…                                                                    I ponder the process that took place to step out of that pace of daily living, to mentally step back from the persistent multitasking drive that accomplishes a never ending magnitude of responsibilities in the finite hours of a day. It was a process of gradual recalibrating of the priorities of time that allowed the external race walker to convert to walker seeking internal peace. Intentionally, it has become acceptable to take shorter steps and move at a slower pace. Not because I’m incapable of that meteoric pace, but because the value of attention to the bounty of this world, the bounty of  this fleeting life, can only be captured when its not being raced past in a blur. 
                                                       * * *

Transitions take so many forms and all are challenging. What motivates you to engage in the process, to 'slow your steps' or 'take the long way around'?

Linking with TellHisStory and Weekend Brew. Enjoy the photos and thoughts of these fellow writers by clicking on the links below.