Summer is my time to spend as much time out in nature as is possible, yes, even in the heat of Texas. Early mornings and evenings still work for me, as long as I can get outside to breathe in God's creation. I'm enthralled with nature. I can sit outside on my porch and just listen to the birds sing for quite a long time. I am delighted each time one of them comes close so I can carefully study it's unique design and color pattern.
One of my favorite places to spend my mornings or evenings right now is on my bike down a nature trail. I stop quite often to snap a picture of a wildflower, a sunrise or sunset, a stream, a river, a pond, a duck, a squirrel, or even a fascinating insect. It amazes me how many different colors, shapes, sizes, patterns, and variety I find among the flowers. I have no green thumb (I think I have to claim a black thumb), so I have to admire everyone else's flowers or the ones that grow wildly in the field.
The last few mornings, I've been mesmorized by a "simple" spider on my back porch and the intricate web he's been weaving each night.
Nature points all fingers to a Creator. A designer. An artist. And to know that all creation groans for the return of Christ means that the beauty I see isn't even close to the beauty we will behold in eternity. I long for that day.
This year took more out of me than normal, so I've resigned to completely remove myself from a school mindset for at least the entire month of June. I need a reset, a chance to focus on things that draw me closer to Christ and to others. A chance to write and reflect, to let all my thoughts have a space to congregate outside of my head, to make sense of what's happening in my world. A chance to reconnect with friends and family, to find cute coffee shops, to go thrift store treasure hunting, etc. You get my drift. A chance to break out of the mold and seek adventure, even if the adventure is just a lone ride on my bike.
I have a shorter summer this year because our breaks are scheduled more deliberately within the school year, so I didn't even get to look into teaching a Bible study at church. But my heart beats for teaching other women how to study Scripture, so a few friends and I decided to congregate on my front porch to study Scripture together this summer. Last year we met via Zoom and wrote a lament psalm about missing community, so I can't begin to express my gratitude for the community we are able to build this summer in my favorite place.
Our psalm of lament
7/16/2020
As a society and a family of believers, we are deeply grieving connection.
Please, Lord, redefine connection for us by bringing divine appointments into our life.
We trust that You’re not surprised that our personalities have this need for connection and that You are creating more opportunity to connect with You.
We praise You for the joy that is coming, for the glory that will be revealed after we have suffered and persevered through this trial, and for the deeper way we are going to know You through this season.
You are a jealous God and will fight for connection with us because You love us that much
Yes, sometime I'll have to get myself ready to enter the school mindset again, but not until I've had time to reset. I believe it's just as essential as any training or preparing we could possibly do with our time.
The Garland flower, a firewheel.
Thrift store treasures
Cute coffee shops
Watching the sun continue to rise every morning, right on schedule
Watching the flowers stay on schedule each day, not pointing their petals outward or upward until it's time.
The spider that captivates me, so uniquely and intricately created with a purpose unlike any other creature.
In case you can't find me, you know where I'll be....
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