What did YOU do this summer? Ah the somewhat-loaded, well-intentioned question I hear all too often as summer winds to a close. We feel such pressure to come up with a long list of impressive sounding accomplishments at the end of summer. The activities we enrolled in, the trips we took, the projects we completed. Social media only fuels this "competition"...we are always trying to keep up and always falling short. I will never have as amazing a summer as the "x" family!!
My list of summer accomplishments could include such exciting things as, keeping up with the laundry, waging daily wars against pet hair and dirty dishes, trying to get the kids to fight less, reading approximately 1/2 of two books, and attacking the ever-encroaching weeds in the garden. But really, who's keeping track of any of this? Summer isn't about amassing some long list of achievements. I'm not out to out-do anyone.
It's not about the rush...we are all "so busy" and "so tired." Let's just give ourselves a break from it all. This summer more than ever, I have felt the crushing burden of trying to keep up...and over and over again, I have been reminded of what my one goal each day should be...
Matthew 12:30-31 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Fix your eyes on Jesus...
Of course it's not always that simple. Of course each day when I wake up, my problems are still there...but the heavy burden of trying to do and be everything slips away when we are putting our focus and attention on Him.
Do I really see and think of Him in that regard...as my sustenance? Do I keep Him at the forefront of my thoughts as I go through my day? Distractions are around every corner, trying to pull me away, trying to convince me that I have to "do more."
But actually, He wants me to make room for less in my life...not more. I read this verse yesterday, and had to go back and re-read it several times to really let it soak in,
Even Jesus, God's own Son, recognized the importance of clearing out all the distractions and other people from around Him from time to time to make alone time with God. He went off to isolated places to pray many times in Scripture. He made room in His life for less, and in doing so received His sustenance and strength from the Father.
Before summer slips away, make some time in your life for less...give yourself those moments just to gaze deeply into the eyes of your little ones and appreciate them, give yourself unstructured time to be out in Creation, soaking in all the wonder that is there that we so often take for granted, and most importantly, give yourself space just to be alone with the Creator. He wants to hear from you. He wants you to know that you are pretty amazing...worth dying for.
Yesterday morning we all stopped by a local farm that was having a garage sale. The 100+ year-old house and land was also for sale and as we talked to the daughter who had grown up there, she shared many fond memories of living there years ago. I felt a sadness as I saw all the things that they had accumulated over the years....now no longer wanted. Things that were once so important, so cherished...now dust covered and taking up space.
