A Restorative Summer

For me, summer has been a time where I labored. Growing up, I would spend my summers in the garden with my mother and father, planting seeds to reap a harvest in the winter. I would enjoy the feeling of God's fresh earth within my hands and take pride in knowing that this activity brought joy and a bit of relief to my parents.

As I grew older, I would spend my summers in whatever activities I found myself involved in, cheerleading camps, tennis camps, Girl Scouts, baking classes, etc. In the last three years, I have spent my summers interning in Washington DC. It is only now that I ask myself, why have you allowed yourself to spend so much time laboring. Yes, work is important but at a young age, I started to notice that I would fill up my time with activities and labor. As I sit here and ponder why is that, I turn to the Bible.  

Proverbs 6:8 talks about Laboring, “They labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter”. This reminded me of my childhood but also made me think about the act of laboring and why we as humans have run with this notion and taken it to the extreme. In any season of life, it is important to find rest and peace. Restoration is essential to fuel your spirit to continue the good works we do for Christ. Christ doesn’t want us to spend most of our time laboring. He specifically made Sunday as a day of rest.  

So, I ask you, have you made time to rest in the summer season?

I know we are in the middle of a global pandemic but there are still so many ways to find rest at home; go on a walk, journal, draw, meditate, enjoy a glass of wine, a cup of tea, spend time with family or friends (virtually). Find something that brings you joy and engage in it at least once a week. We have to create that balance in our lives so that we can be restored and renewed in our faith walk.