Do you receive zillions of those Christmas cards that contain pictures of relatives you hardly know and friends of your parents' from the glory days like I do? They always seem to contain "THE letter" that nonchalantly explains all of the accomplishments each family member has achieved throughout the year. Sometimes they are fun to read and useful in quickly catching up with old friends, and yet sometimes it can seem like a "keeping up with the Joneses" yearly exercise.
I am probably wrong about this, but I sometimes feel that coming back to school after vacation is a prime opportunity for the old Christmas card routine. "What did you do this summer?" people want to know. If you haven't gone to camp, led a homeless person to Christ, or personally given an African child your Toms then you can sometimes feel a twinge of guilt as friends describe their action-packed, spiritual roller coaster (that only goes up and never down,) ride of a summer.
Maybe I say this because I didn't do any of these things and I wish I had. Yet the over-achiever in me has had to take a break and say, "It's okay. It's not wrong to take a summer off, and work and rest until school starts again." I can honestly say that I haven't done a whole lot this summer. I worked, gained experience in my possible future career, volunteered, hiked with my friends, and spent a lot of time with my family. Those are the sort of things I never do during the school year, so in that sense I feel as though I didn't waste it. Would I have liked to go to Africa and adopt 13 children? Absolutely. But seeing that I didn't, I can look back and see many things that God did in my own heart. Sometimes it takes quietness to hear whether or not my heart beats for Jesus because of the exciting circumstances I am in or because I love Him regardless of what I am doing or who I am with. This summer provided that quiet, and quite frankly I didn't like all of what I found. But I never would have recognized some of my own personal struggles had I not taken the time to see who I really was without a thriving spiritual environment, solid Christ-following friends and countless prepared opportunities for service.
God has graciously shown me many of my own weaknesses, revealed to me more of His character, and strengthened several relationships vital to my spiritual maturity. It was hard and I am looking forward to it coming to a close, but I trust that Jesus used it for my good and His glory as it has been apart of His grand plan since the beginning of time. The things I have learned will undoubtedly be of great value in the coming semesters and I am anxious to see how Jesus will use these lessons in the future.
Hears to waking up late, having long devotions, and sipping sweet tea on the porch with family. Who knows if you'll ever have the free time to do it again!
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