“So, what should we do tomorrow?” my friend Laurel asked me over text.
“Um, I don’t know yet,” I replied. “Can we just see where the spirit of summer takes us?”
When she showed up at my house the next morning, we leisurely discovered our way around the city of Seattle. We stopped by Mighty O, our favorite vegan donut shop; we walked around Sand Point, while my young boys zoomed scooters in front of and behind and through us. We sat lazily in the backyard for a couple of hours, sipping iced tea and catching up on missed bits of conversation, until our husbands came home. Then we grilled, and filled empty glasses, and sat in comfy, cushioned chairs until the stars appeared.
That day and into the night, we let summer be what it was intended to be: an open palate of beauty and grace.
I don’t know about you, but every year when June arrives I’m ready for it. I’m ready not to pack lunches anymore, and I’m ready not to hustle tiny bodies out the door every morning. I’m ready for deadlines to cease, so I can fill my kitchen and my belly with the food this season is made of: juicy watermelon dribbling down your chin, 4th of July Jell-O molds oozing through your teeth, and hamburgers sizzling fresh off the grill.
I could go on, for there’s nothing like a summer bounty of food. But really, the thing I most look forward to is rest from routine.
I suppose that’s also where newness meets me in faith: I’m not so bound by outward schedules of rigidity. I’m free to be my most innocent and playful self. And just as the spirit of summer greets me when I’m lining up plans with a friend, the beauty of Christ meets me in new ways come summertime.
It’s like the glory of the ordinary everyday is made that much holier when life and schedules and food are simplified.
So, I see God in the heirloom tomatoes that begin to pop up at the farmer’s market.
I see God in the shrieking delight of my two young sons, when a backyard hose lends them permission to drench each other with love and grace.
And I see God in the little, mundane moments of my life, when I let go of my own expectations of crafting perfect sentences and squeezing creativity out of my brain and onto my computer, and really, actually enter into the present moment.
It’s then, as I sit on a blanket on the grass, my toes dangling over the edge, flirting with green, that I remember one of my favorite quotes:
Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there. -Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
But this time, unlike the last time I remembered it — six, seven months ago — I don’t just think nicely of it; I take it to heart. I put it to action. I will and I sense grace and beauty in God’s world around me, and I am refreshed, renewed, reinvigorated to life.
And that, I’d say, is exactly what the spirit of summer intended.
Leave a Comment
Michele Morin says
One of my most visceral memories of the Pacific Northwest is of gorgeous ripe cherries, eaten in our mini-van seven years ago on a cross country trip with all four boys. Every time I eat cherries, I go back to that day when we were on the road and like you (and Annie D.) it was our job to make sure that creation did not “play to an empty house.”
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Cara,
Thank you for such an inviting invitation to enjoy stepping out of the rut of routine and let ourselves go where the Spirit leads us. My children are grown, but I have to laugh, remembering when our yard became a swamp, because a garden hose provided hours of entertainment lol. I can just hear God whispering, “Loosen up a bit….I sent my son so you could have life and have it abundantly….here it is….take it.” I love the quote by Annie Dillard. So true that beauty and grace are ALWAYS being performed. Oh that I might slow down to be present! Beautiful!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Kassey says
The beauty of summer is really indescribable. You appreciate more the nature that God created. Not that you don’t appreciate it come winter, but the scent of air brings such a relief to the spirit. I’m with you in enjoying heirloom vegetables every summer. Indeed, God’s grace is everywhere and sometimes we all need that short break to pause and awe the magnificent creation and moments He offer.
It’s beautiful to welcome the day reading your post Cara. I enjoyed it.
Brenda says
Cara, amen to that. All that. — I’m right there with you–trying to rest in His presence this summer. He’s meeting me there, and I pray He’s meeting you there as well. Taking the time to sense the “grace and beauty” that’s happening all around us is holy business. ((hug))
Pearl Allard says
Cara, thanks for validating thoughts of slowing down, being present, and looking up. Summer’s change of pace is welcomed. I’m still learning how to embrace it and ditch the guilt (because there’s always the temptation to look somewhere besides up), but your beautifully articulated post is such a gift. Thank you, thank you!
Kelli says
Cara –
You’ve managed to perfectly describe summer! And now I really want to grill out! 🙂
I see GOD in the sunrises, they seem brighter to me during the summer. It’s his nudge for me to wake up and be grateful for the world around me. To look at the world each day with a fresh perspective. To enjoy sitting on my porch reading my books and being warmed by his love for us.
It’s the little things that remind us each day of his love for us 🙂
Beth Williams says
Cara,
I’ve never been a fan of summer. I guess living in Florida it felt like summer most of the year. It is always good to let go of routine and be free to enjoy all that God has for us. For me though, fall is my palate of beauty and grace. Getting outside, basking in nature and the beauty that God created helps one really experience the true rest God wants for us.
Blessings 🙂
Terrie Futrell says
I love this….mainly because you’ve read and quoted Annie Dillard!!! 🙂 Also…revel in rest and relaxing in the beauty of all of God’s creation!
rebeccajones says
Summers are so hot here in Ga. I enjoy the spring and fall.
Nancy Ruegg says
Love your enthusiasm for summer, Cara, and your wisdom about the glory to be discovered when we simplify. One of my simple pleasures of summer is to watch the fireflies dance in the trees behind our house. I see God in the glowing.