Last Days of Summer

There is a crispness to the morning air. A few leaves are starting to change colors. And there is a risk of frost next week.

We are heading into the last days of summer.

It was a good summer. While we were unable to accomplish all that we wanted during the months of July & August, we still enjoyed simple yet meaningful experiences. Family Bible Camp (and the zip line!). Swimming lessons. Reuniting with many friends over yummy eats. Visits with extended family. A just-the-two-of-us holiday for your Daddy and I while you kids hung out with Uncle, Aunt & cousins. A day trip to a Provincial Park with a friend. Ice cream, marshmallows roasted over the fire pit, and all things barbequed. A camp out in our back yard (where I had to get ear plugs at 4:00 a.m. because the leaves were rustling too loud). Harvesting a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes!

School has now begun. A new preschool schedule was printed and posted to inspire my time at home with you, my son. Our family bulletin board and calendar are filling up with events, meetings, and Autumn activities. Homework has begun, for you, my daughter (yay! a teacher who sends homework!). Soon, your Daddy will be marking and grading and reporting.

I welcome the change of pace, though I mourn the relaxing, quasi-scheduled nature of summer. Interestingly enough, even though I am quite organized and thrive in systems that are predicable, I struggle with ridged time frames. I dislike being rushed, especially in the morning. I don't enjoy being over busy or overwhelmed. To find balance, I need my alone time, where no one is around me. Thus, I cherish my evenings, where the house quiets down, the household tasks cease for a few hours, and I can relax and think and be.

So here I am. Your Daddy is at a school meeting. The fans in your rooms whirl to provide background noise to your dreams. The dishwasher just completed its cycle. And I take a moment to thank. I thank God for the pause, where my body can relax and my gut settles down. I thank God for His grace and forgiveness for the many moments during the day where I fail at parenting or raise my voice in anger. I thank God that He is changing me, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And whenever I get frustrated with how slow other people or other organizations change, I remind myself that they too are a work in progress (like me). I thank God for His provisions for today. Even though there are elements of our future that seem impossible, I can rest in the knowledge that God will be present with us then as He is with us now.

This post showcases a picture of our family. Your Daddy and I. You two children. I must admit, I am pretty proud of this picture, as I took it with my new camera (Canon EOS Rebel T5) on your Nana's tripod. Then I cropped it to be a 5x7. We look pretty darn good! And while I would conclude we are a fairly well adjusted family, we are so far from perfect. The sin nature is quite evident in you two. As it is in both your Daddy and I (though we are better as masking it). Regardless, we all need God's saving grace today, every moment. So this is my prayer for the four of us, that we seek God daily, to change us, to refine us, to fill us with all that is already ours through Christ. And this is not something that just can be scheduled into a morning devotion or a family prayer time or an evening reflection. Seeking God needs to happen continuously, like breathing. Let's breath as a family, as children of God, during this change in seasons.

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