I woke up at 5:30 last Monday to get an early start on homework. My mom got up shortly thereafter and the two of us opened windows to enjoy the warm Labor Day air. Off in the distance, I heard geese flying over and honking to one another. It's a strange sound, really. But to me, it was familiar and emotional - it meant fall was on the way!
There have been numerous reminders that the fall is one the way and all the things with it: the drums of the highschool band are once again audible in the girls' bedroom; at Sunday lunch, pumpkin pie was once again a dessert choice; with the resumption of the school schedule, the excitement of academia once again rushes through my veins.
Of course, with the beginning of something comes the end of something else - and the something else has been one of the best summers of my life. I think I say that every summer - but that only proves with what bountiful grace, my God provides day after day exactly what I need and what I want. So instead of chronicling every detail of this amazing summer, I want to share with you a few distinct memories of this bountifully rick summer.
1) My first memory is very simple and it's of a flower. I was sitting outside on our back deck doing devotions, when a flower in my mom's flowerboxes caught my attention. It was beautiful, intricate, and perfect. I think it was a shade of purple. In that flower, I saw the handiwork of my amazing God. He transcends time and space, and yet He deigns to design and create flowers! This summer one of the books I read was Chesterton's Orthodoxy. In it, he says basically that it is the child's mind that sometimes grasps closer to the truth when it appreciates the simple, "repetitive" beauty and joy. Chesterton notes that every morning, when the sun comes up, it is God saying "do it again." When God ordained for that flower to blossom on our back deck, it was Him reveling in His own creative power and saying "Do it again." This first memory sets the backdrop for the rest, because it is this very God who cares for flowers, Whose Hand was evident throughout the whole summer, guiding, protecting, and blessing.
2) The next memory has a much less peaceful setting! It is a memory of three teenage girls rushing out the door with a rather frazzled father, who despite all his warning for a good timely plan, has had to motivate the girls out of the house. Sheryl has already chronicled several details from Bethany, Sheryl, and my day in NYC, but she did not mention the ignoble fact that we were very close to missing our bus for reasons which my memory is a little foggy on - something about dressing, breakfast, make-up, hair, etc. etc. That was the beginning of a fantastic day of adventure this summer in which we girls walked our feet off getting lost and refinding ourselves all over lower Manhanttan!
--- More was to follow, but since it never did, I have decided to post this old entry anyway.
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