This was a stressful, busy, overwhelming semester. But it was also a semester I found great joy in: new friends, new Greek vocab, slightly altered Caf options, it was great! But now comes the time of year we all love: summer.
Most of us have grandiose plans for our summers, usually made into lists exceeding most of the ten page papers we begrudgingly begat this past week. Road trips, book lists, sporting events, camping trips, rekindled friendships, trying new restaurants: these are exciting prospects that are taken from my list, and I assume yours is not much different. All of these things are good and make summer all the more delightful. But I encourage you, and in turn, myself: Do not waste your summer.
Prioritize
I remember reading a short article by John Piper entitled “Summer Mindset.” At one point he says, “Don’t let summer make your soul shrivel.” He then goes into talking about how summer is a God-given foretaste of heaven — I encourage you to read the article! My point in bringing this up is to plead with you, and myself, not to let your soul wither over the summer.
Besides our plans, however, we cannot get distracted from what causes our souls to grow. Away from our set schedules, our disciplined habits of getting into the word — which I pray are fairly regular — can be quickly snuffed out. Even though we may not intentionally cite our summer for the falling out of regular prayer and scripture meditation, it happens. So then, I implore you to put this on the top of your already lengthy summer to-do list in as bright a color as you can find: Make your soul’s well-being a priority.
By no means am I suggesting you take up a monastic lifestyle, that would be awful! I think you should mark as many things off your list as you can — I know I will. Be aware, however, that summer has the power to scorch your faith, cause you to stumble and take you back to “how you were in high school.” I think the freedom gets to our heads. All this to say, keep an eye on your soul’s health.
All things bright and beautiful
One of my fondest childhood memories — disclaimer: My Reformed Baptist upbringing is about to show — is singing the hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” This hymn offers insight into a principle that can help us care for our souls this summer. Here is the stanza: “All things bright and beautiful, / All creatures great and small, / All things wise and wonderful: / The Lord God made them all.” I imagine most of us will go hiking or to the beach or go to a barbeque in a backyard with perhaps a decent garden. Put this on your list: enjoy creation! Revel in the beauty of God’s creation and enjoy it with those you love during one of the most ideal times of the year.
Summer offers a unique opportunity to connect with God’s creation. This idea comes bubbling out in Piper’s description of what summer is: “[It is] God’s messenger with a sun-soaked, tree-green, flower-blooming, lake-glistening letter of love to show us what he is planning for us in the age to come.” Our enjoyment in the opportunities summer offers — yes, even those long lists consisting of things we thoroughly enjoy within reason — can actually give us a foretaste of the age to come.
Do yourself a favor: Do not let your soul shrivel this summer.
