The ber months have arrived.
How fast did your summer go by?
I know it is summer until September 22nd but the summer months of no school flew by so fast.
Summer was filled with lots of sports travel, school visits, naps, a beach trip that was too darn short, good reads, and good food. I was scrolling my camera roll this week and I am grateful that I captured some beautiful parts of what seems like the fastest summer ever.
Relaxing whenever I got the chance was big on my to-do list this summer. Naps, reading, and zoning out in between the busy stuff became a necessity.
This summer also included some learning.
I did a deep dive into the book of Psalms. I read through Psalms in April and went back for more.
The Psalms are like poetry.
All throughout the Psalms there is despair and rejoicing. There is honesty via prayers, like that gut-wrenching ugly honesty that pours out between ugly cries, anger, and frustration.
That honesty will guide you into a deeper and more genuine relationship with God.
The rejoicing comes as we grow and learn to trust God even amid the storms.
No one wants to go through hardships. Heck, I feel like I have had enough hardships to last a lifetime and then some.
My time studying the book of Psalms has been refreshing.
We know some things just plain suck. Some changes come that we never would have imagined. Certain dreams get crushed or redirected. And as cliché as it all sounds things have a way of working out.
Like I have told my teens lately there are so many things right now that when you are young feel like the end of the world that one day you will see helped prepare you for the peaks and valleys in life. Teens do not fully understand this and that is fine.
Learning that sometimes we have to say no to things even when we know they more than likely will result in a nice reward was a tough choice/learning lesson this summer. I could hear my mama and my grandfather's voices with plenty of reminders about this one. And boy I wish I could go into more detail here. But once again the Psalms helped with why this no was the best answer.
Another lesson in how quickly life can change-
In June two days after my birthday, a good friend passed away. To say this was a shock is an understatement. She and I talked via text a few days before she passed away and we had plans to meet in Disneyland in December to celebrate an important milestone of hers.
And yet again the Psalms….
The despair of my friend no longer being here, and the pain I know her daughters are feeling as they navigate grief is a lot, and yet I still rejoice about our friendship. Even with my move to the southeast, she was constantly a light and influence in my life. Always doing weekly check-ins on me and my family. Our inside jokes never stopped and she always had a wisecrack or wise word when I needed one.
I am looking forward to the ber months and working more on being consistent with writing. (I promise I will share more later about the writing part).
One thing I know for sure is that things happen when you least expect- good things, in between things, and not-so-good things. This week I was reminded that as much I have struggled with church hurt (the people, ugh) God is always working things out and I am absolutely grateful for the people I have crossed paths with who give me the nudge to take a chance and try something new.
I hope September is good to you.
This month be sure to:
Keep the promises that make to yourself
Send a note to someone you love
Take time to rest
Have a great weekend!
This is such a beautifully written piece. Thank you for always demonstrating such unshakable faith even in the midst of constant loss like you’ve experienced over this past year. I love your reminders to pause and rest in the midst of change and busy-ness. The one constant we have is Jesus.