Glimpses of Summer II

Summer around here has a well established pattern.  I've talked about it several times now.  There is Summer I and there is Summer II.  Summer I is packed full of activities, and Summer II is for doing whatever we want or nothing at all if we want. It is so predictable, I could use a post that I wrote exactly a year ago and just say ditto.  This year has its own variations on the theme, but the fact remains, Summer I is exhausting!

I probably SHOULD just say ditto, and let it go at that, because this is the week we lose our minds.  Every. year.  We took brain dead to a whole new level this week.  So much that it reached beyond maddening to laughable.  We were going separate directions and pretty much constantly had the wrong things in the wrong car.  Etcetera. What's good?  Lee and I were equally absentminded, so we were very supportive of each other.  As were the kids.

This week our pastor announced his resignation.  Very sad--but happy in that he leaves our church family in great health with much hope on the horizon, rather than leaving in defeat over some contentious issue.  I told him it's really not a good time, because it's Summer I and I only have the capacity for matters of the calendar--not matters of the heart.  He said he's going anyway.

 

BUT.

This week we also had a glimpse or two of Summer II.  

The lazy days of summer.  

I'm so looking forward to it.

And because I'm better at pondering than logistics, 

it got me thinking of the study we did on the book "Surprised By Hope".  

We are living summer here, and it is so good.  

But the best is yet to come.  

Jesus came to establish and announce that the Kingdom of God is here.

It IS!

As his followers, we see glimpses of it wherever we look,

wherever we allow it to take hold in our lives...

...but the best is yet to come.

Until then, we are back at it, 

the busy, busy days of Summer I.

Back to the work of announcing the Kingdom of God.

Summer is here, after all,

and so is the Kingdom.