Even Through The Gentle Rain

In the middle of my summer days I take time to slow more, savor more, and soak in more of the moments in a different way. I find joy in walking through the moments, the memories, and the measuring of time as I make the most of each day.

Ice cream on our mind

One afternoon this week, my husband and I took a little drive because we just wanted to go out for an ice cream cone. By the time we put our dogs out in the cage and gave them water, it had started to rain. We decided to go for our drive anyway! To be honest, it is really dry here, and it had been quite a while since I had walked in the rain or even driven my car in the rain. We were so grateful for the rain that it didn’t matter to us! Ice cream in the rain seemed to be quite a good choice for this rainy late afternoon. Ahh… one of the joys of summer!

“Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” Hosea 6:3 NLT

A glimpse back in time

In thinking about the summer ahead, I remembered a writing I found a couple weeks ago I had written about “Summer Days” in 2017 and how I was looking forward to them. Here is a little glimpse of that Summer…

… “As I opened the window this morning beside my computer, I heard the early morning noises in my house ~ the sound of the dryer down in the cellar, the sound of the coffee brewing, and the beautiful sound of a red cardinal sitting on the dog cage singing his music outside my window! He stayed long enough for me to get a couple pictures of him and then went flying off to the trees at the edge of our two acres. I loved his new song fresh in the morning as I sat just a few feet away. I sighed and took a deep breath. This. Place. Moves. Me. A Saturday morning with no other responsibilities. No place to rush off to. I love it. It makes me feel like I’m home.

This place used to be where I sat and worked for hours and for most of my days in years past when I worked at home for our vending business. Oh the memories that flood me as I sit here. I also used to spend a lot of time sitting here writing, until I changed the place where I wrote. Now I’m coming back to this place, this ‘old place’ that will sort of be a ‘new place’ again! New ideas will be birthed here, written down, and saved with the click of a button. New fonts will be chosen to write with on each day. On this morning I wrote my goals for the 2017 Summer season…

— This. Is. My. Summer ~ where moments are savored and sunshine lingers long after the moments are gone. —

I will write and will not be afraid of the new places in life I write about. I will trust God to lead me to the quiet streams. I will listen to the sound of the birds on the dog cage a few feet away. I will allow my dreams to surface and to become reality. I will walk with my husband on this journey and laugh with him in intentional moments of joy. I will be refreshed by the breezes I feel coming in my window. I will encourage those who I meet upon this path.

I will write words God places upon my heart to write and share them. I will soak my heart in His Word of truth to guide me. I will not live in fear. I will live out His calling on my life. I will rest in the midst of the busyness. I will find beauty and hope on my journey and encourage others to do the same. I will let creativity rise within me and not be afraid for it to be seen. I will pursue the dreams lurking just underneath the surface and find joy in living them out. I will delight in letting go of the broken pieces and let God continue to make a mosaic out of me.”

The look of dreams

The dreams for the summer of 2020 look a bit different than they did in 2017. What I decreed and declared about my summer of 2017 I still decree and declare about this one. My heart still yearns for God’s touch on my life in powerful ways; again, in new and fresh ways. I have dreams to rise above the surface and become clearer to my heart in this season of my life.

I wipe the rain off the windshield of my car so I can see where I am going. At the same time, I find God washing the bugs and dirt off the windshield of my eyes so I can see Him more clearly and see His vision for my life in ways I have not been able to visualize through the downpour of the pandemic and uncertainty.

The turn toward home

On turning into our driveway, I eat the last bite of my delicious Moose Tracks ice cream sugar cone. I walk past the deep orange coneflower perennial in my front flower bed with its many flowers dripping from rain. I marvel how it still carries itself strong and beautiful. The stone pathway next to it leads me to my front door. I follow it and notice how the beauty created on the meandering pathway each has a little spot of beauty unique to where it is planted.

I want to look back and see in my summer moments the places where I have walked and know I have not walked in them alone. I want to be able to see where God has walked with me even through the rain and the downpour. The refreshing that comes after the rain is one I savor as I take a deep breath before I close my door for this evening.

I find the weeks of summer are passing quickly for me. I wonder how they are for you, my dear reader. There is a place for you here. ♡ I hope this little glimpse of my summer gives you reflection into your summer days and moments. Let’s all linger a little longer in the rain and not be too quick to shut the door to the moments before us.