Summer Rest Stops

We’ve had a bit of a break this past week, but overall, it’s been unseasonably hot and dry around here this summer. This is typical Kansas weather for July and early August. But when the temperatures soar, the grass goes dormant and the rain clouds disappear in June, it can be downright discouraging.

That’s why an unexpected rainstorm that blew in a couple weekends ago was such a relief, physically and emotionally. You don’t realize how parched you are from the oppressive heat and lack of moisture in the air until the heavens open and dump out an inch of rain on a Saturday afternoon.

Randy and I threw open garage door so we could fully enjoy the downpour. I perched on a paint-splattered step stool; he settled next to me on an overturned nursery pot. We had nothing else to do and nowhere else to be. We just sat there quietly and soaked in the coolness, the sound of the rain sloshing out of leaf-packed gutters, the raindrops hitting the street and bouncing up again.

A bunny hopped across the driveway, stopping once to shake itself off like a little wet dog before disappearing under our daughter’s car. It would have made a sweet picture, but neither of us wanted to break the mood by rushing into the house to retrieve a phone. We just watched the scene as it unfolded in front of us and took its place among our favorite summer memories.

It was a mental oasis, a rest stop in the midst of a hectic, sometimes-confusing season.

I’ve experienced other bits of refreshment too—glimpses of glory and grace that have captured my attention on the radio, on the pages of scripture, just outside a mostly ignored window and even in my parched flowerbeds where only the heartiest specimens are thriving this year.

There’s the pot of impatiens in the basement window well that catches my eye whenever I come down the stairs. Stark against a faux brick backdrop, untouched by the Japanese beetles that have wreaked havoc elsewhere in my yard, the cheery pink and white flowers bring me joy every time I pause to look at them.

So do the hibiscus plants that originated in the field behind my sister’s house and the patches of four o’clocks that multiplied from two little seedlings my mom gave me years ago.

Some summers, the four o’clocks take over the entire flower border. This year, they’re more sparse but just as pretty—opening and closing every day in their beautifully choreographed blooming dance.

Then, as I read through the Book of Isaiah each morning, it’s God’s promises and the ways He describes His work in our lives that are revitalizing my spirit and lifting the burdens of this particular summer.

For example, let these eternal truths saturate your mind today:

• “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.” (Isaiah 40:28-29)

• “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

• “I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and save you.” (Isaiah 46:6)

Finally, I was on my way to a nearby grocery store several weeks ago when I first heard Phil Wickham’s song “Living Hope” on the radio. I pulled into a parking spot and sat there with tears in my eyes as the powerful message worked its way through my soul.

If you have a moment to listen, maybe it will encourage your heart as much as it still encourages mine.

These are few of the refreshing “rest stops” I’ve encountered this summer. How about you?

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Let’s Have Coffee, Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory, Faith on Fire, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.