Sweet Summertime

“Summer is a season of rest, growth, playfulness, reading, freedom, fun, and adventure.”

-Kristen Armstrong

Throw in racing and maybe the constant fall of summer storms and so far that’s my summer. These last three weeks have felt like such a season of rest for me, especially after the constant demanding year. I may have to get up early in the morning for work and hit job number two at night, while also training my butt off, yet I still find plenty of time to rest—usually around 2pm when I take that oh so coveted nap. I’m not sure if it’s still the revelation that I have graduated, or that I have a new home, or that I’ll finally be comfortable in one place for three months with hardly any obligations that makes me feel so at peace these days. Despite the past crazy weeks of on and off rain, summer has been different this year, but then again, in the last month I feel different myself.

Suddenly I have started a different chapter in my life and I have a new pen ready to write my days. Someone close to me told me just last week that I’ve changed tremendously since he saw me last, right near the end of school. That’s only been a month mind you. He looked at me and said, “You’re just different. More relaxed. Independent.” I cannot say I have purposely changed my thoughts or actions or tried to find a new personality but I feel it. It’s as if the moment I stop thinking about not worrying, about trying to relax, and about trying to be happy…I find the peace and strength I’ve been searching for all along How funny is it that when we just simply stop, whether searching, worrying, thinking, etc, we finally find?
I have a horrible habit of losing things. And I mean a horrible, uncanny, bumbling habit. I misplace my keys all of the time, I’ve been through five umbrellas this year because I can’t keep track of them, and I don’t know how many pairs of sunglasses I’ve lost throughout the years. But somehow, it never fails that the minute I stop looking for the object I have lost, I will find it. And here, I’ve stopped searching and trying to figure out how to be, and simply just am. It’s a neat feeling really—simply being. I’ve sat around contemplating, gone for some jogs, and spent hours at my computer this last week trying to write about it, but I can’t fully describe the feeling. It’s just different. It’s just good. It’s as if my heart, mind, and soul are in a season of rest, and growth, and playfulness. I’m seeking adventure and fun and freedom from whatever it was that was holding me down.

Summer is a unique time. As kids, these three months of freedom are what we live for every year. We spend countless hours in the sun splashing by the side of the pool burning energy and not missing the chance to play. We jump through the sprinkler, dive onto the Slip-n-Slide, chase the ice cream truck, and enjoy a melting orange dream sickle in the heat of the day not caring if more of it ends up on our hands than in our mouths leaving us gross and sticky. We play Frisbee with the dog, roast marshmallows until they’re black, carve our initials in trees, cower in the crook our of parents’ arms during thunderstorms, and illuminate our name with sparklers. We dance in rain showers, catch fireflies and sit in awe at fireworks on the fourth of July. And no matter how tired we are at the end of the day, we tumble into bed with reading lights or tell scary stories with our brothers, and then fall asleep with smiles on our faces awaiting the adventures the next day will bring us. We awake with the peace of carefree days and the strength to never stop running.
This!—this childlike wonderment and strength is what I long for in everything I do. This is what I am slowly discovering! Phillipians 4:7 says And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. There is this feeling that I find simply dwelling in me these days and I know it’s nothing I could have ever discovered on my own. I don’t know if I jarred it loose it while I was running one day, or if it crept up on me while I was just sitting in silence, or revealed itself while I was spending time with friends. However, I do know that it’s God-breathed and exactly what children discover in the summertime. And I cannot stop lifting up a smile of thanks for every moment.

So whether it’s chasing that ice cream bell before lunchtime, or dancing in a rain shower, or tumbling around on the floor with a puppy, take a moment to breathe in the sweet summertime and smile. As for me, I’m going to finish up work, discuss a little Irish Literature, and maybe cower under my mother’s arm if this thunderstorm reveals itself.