Summertime

"Summertime, and the living is easy" is the start of an old Cole Porter song. It seems like summer was made for "living easy." The weather is nice, and you just want to be outside enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. For some reason, however, the good weather that summer brings here in the Pacific Northwest stirs us to tackle all the projects around the house and yard that get left during the rain, so we end up too busy to fully enjoy the summer.

I remember as a kid how much I loved the summer. When school got out, the possibilities seemed endless; all that time stretched out before me, and there was nothing in particular that I had to do. No homework, no projects, only lots of time to play and read and have fun. As an adult, though, summer has somehow become the season we end up doing more work than ever. Instead of being a time of fun and relaxation, there is a never-ending list of things that need to be done to take care of the house and yard. We feel the need to take advantage of every bit of good weather we can to work on the projects that we need or want to get done around the house.

We always think we are going to make time for the fun things, too, but usually that doesn't get done. We have a camping trailer that needs some work to fix up again (another project?!), then we could go camping on the weekends now and then while the weather is nice. We did actually open it up this year and take a look at what it will take to get it back in shape, so I guess we have made some progress in that regard. It could be used as it is, though it would be better to make some repairs first. But somehow the list of things that need to be done is too long, the time to get them done in is too short, and before we know it the summer is over and we have missed out on opportunities to relax and enjoy the season fully.

The older I get, the more I realize that I need to make time to savor the joys of life. Time slips away much too quickly, and I do not want to come to the end of my life filled with regret that I did not take time to be with the people I love and tell them how much they mean to me. It is not the number of projects we finish or the things we accomplish in our jobs that matter most in life, although there is a great deal of satisfaction in those. No matter how much I get done around the house or yard, there will always be more that needs to be done, and as good as it feels to do a good job at work, without relationships, any achievements there can seem hollow. Ultimately it is the time spent with people in meaningful relationships that brings joy and fulfillment in life.

We need to make the most of our time on this earth. Invest in relationships, because they are what will last. The most important relationship of all, of course, is our relationship with God; that will last forever. If you haven't made time to invest in and cultivate your relationship with God in awhile, now is a good time to change that. You won't regret it.

August 3, 2008