“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To me, the advent of summer feels like an illusion.
After surviving the gnawing cold of winter and the splattering muck of early spring, summer appears on the horizon like an oasis of lush comfort. The month of May is a glorious time in the mountains, but if you ask an educator or consult a parent's calendar, you'll find that the month represents the final mile of a marathon.
Making it to Memorial Day weekend feels like quite the accomplishment.
Ah, but then it's summer! The days offer extended daylight. The fog of the pandemic is lifting. The hammock is up, and the garden is well-watered. We've even made peace with the black snake that stalks the impatiens we planted in April.
June, July, and August are the quiet months where life slows down, and we mull about for something to do. Isn't that what Nat King Cole is referring to in this classic standard?
"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
You'll wish that summer could always be here."
Okay, people. Let's stop kidding ourselves. Summer isn't 'easy like Sunday morning.' Summer is just a different kind of busy.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. No, our calendars may not be catching a break. And yes, we may be as 'filled to the brim' as ever. But summer does provide us with the opportunity to add some variety to our rhythms.
Like the gardens that complement our meal-planning and help to clutter our kitchen tops, summer provides a season of bounty. So, although our lives may be no less full during the coming weeks, the sheer volume of opportunities for celebration and joy cannot be discounted.
The sober wisdom that Ecclesiastes teaches us is that each season has its limitations. We know that there is a time for everything. This truth serves as both an encouragement and a warning. When a season feels especially troublesome, we can take solace in knowing that it will not last forever. And when we find ourselves in a state of summertime where the 'living is easy,' we are admonished that we should not take it for granted.
Because summertime, too, has a shelf-life.
Take advantage of the opportunities that become available for you and your family this summer. Indeed, strike while the iron is hot because it won't always feel like this.
The Bible tells us so.