This summer has been fun, but friends, it’s time to conclude the series, and I’m so glad you’ve journeyed along with all my sweet friends.
This week’s post is about Silent Water
We drove over the bridge every morning right after the sunrise. Orange, red, pink, yellow, beautiful colors burst forth behind the clouds to paint the sky. And every morning as we admired the glory of the sunrise my boys looked out their windows to check the waves. Morning after morning the harbor waters lay still. Like a sheet of glass over the blue harbor the water remained silent.
The calm water is a rarity in our world. Living on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico we understand all too well the power of water.
The refining strength of the waves as they crash against the shoreline.
The need for wind to stir the water and blow across the sail boats.
We know the intense power of the water, but when it’s calm, we understand it’s beauty.
I love the opposing forces of water. The ebb and flow in its natural rhythm. Because it reminds me to Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-10
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
This natural phenomenon of opposites. We know we need the waves to refine the sand and stir up the growth of life below the shoreline. Yet we need the calm of water as well.
During the school year our lives revolve around schedules, routines and events. We rise and sleep like clockwork and run busy days with busy lives- meal plans, piano lessons, sports practice, church events, etc.
But summer, in summer we exist in our opposite- controlled chaos, lazy days, overeating sweets and playing all day long. And there is this calmness to our days in the midst of the chaos. This need to do nothing but be. This sense of togetherness that happens.
I don’t know about you, but I need to two forces. The busy, productive, routine of our school year propels our family forward in growth and vision, but the calm, slow, sweet days of summer bring rest, healing and joy to our hearts- which helps carry us through the busy weeks that finally arrive.
Whichever season you’re in, savor it. Because all too soon the next season comes. And choose today, even if just for a moment, to stop what you’re doing, survey the life in front of you and thank God for it.
