Summertime Swing

School is out, summer is in full swing, and I’m sure there is someone out there who is already sick of being asked, “what are we going to do today?” For kids, summer can be a weird mix of super fun highs and super boring lows. During the school year, most days have a similar routine, contrasted with the summer when we go to the park, we play in the water, and we might just go on a trip somewhere cool. Every day has the possibility of being a fun new adventure and the excitement for the unknown leads to that question being asked again and again.

Eventually you leave school and are forced to deal with the realities of adult life. Gone is the annual 2-month full break from work and responsibility. It becomes far less likely that someone is going to wake you up and say, “get dressed, today you get to do something awesome.” Good things still happen, but more often they are saved, planned, and accounted for. In this adult world we become responsible for finding our own joy. Which isn’t always easy. We must set our eyes and our hearts on the things of God.

In Psalm 16:5-8 David says,

“5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the Lord always before me;

because God is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

We may not have the excitement of random trips or extended breaks from our routines, but we do have a God that loves us and leads us to find joy in the places we need it. God is with you in the hard times and the good. Celebrate the small things that bring you joy.