a farewell to summer // living in the season you're called

Is summer really over?

If you’re in the Labor-Day-weekend-is-the-finale-of-summer camp, the answer is yes. If you’re in the fall solstice camp, the answer is no, and I’m not sure I fully disagree with you if you are, considering the weather is still 80-90 degrees this week. I’ve noticed longer shadows and darker mornings for sure, school is back in session, and football season has begun, although you must wear shorts to a day game because it is entirely too warm to choose otherwise.

Winter is so long in the Midwest, I feel like when spring finally starts to break through, I’m more prepared to dive in, but when fall is fast approaching, while it is my favorite season, I’m still left trying to savor every drop of summer. But also at the same time, I’m only shopping for fall (although I’m really not shopping at all currently, but that’s a story for a different day), and I am v excited to start layering up. I even already attended my second football game over the weekend. I do feel like LDW marks the unofficial end of summer for me, as much as I hate to admit it, but I need to fully stretch it through Labor Day. These impending cold months are just too long to not. And is it just me or does it feel like the pumpkin spice latte arrived extra early this year?! The pool wasn’t even closed! I could’ve been sippin’ PSLs by the pool. Like let’s get real here.

All of this leafs me reflecting on this: our culture is constantly looking forward to the next thing and not enjoying the moment, the season (literal and figurative season) we’re in.

How can we be sippin’ PSLs by the pool?!

I feel like teachers and students get a bit of a free pass to begin to transition to fall, but don’t you remember the frustration following back to school shopping for all your new fall looks where it was just too unbearably hot to wear those jeans + sweaters when classes first geared up, or is that just me? Summer is too short, too good of a season, to just completely skip onto the next.

Be where you are. Bask in the long summer sun. I know I’m trying.

Unfortunately in life, and sometimes fortunately as well, we can’t just skip a season. God has called us to be where we are for a purpose.

This is two-fold:

1. Slow down. Look around. Seek your divine appointments. Pick your head up off your phone. Make eye contact, smile at someone in line at the market. Engage with the high schooler ringing out your groceries (if you haven’t chosen the self-checkout line) and speak life. Grab coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks. You never know what someone is walking through. You never know how your personal interaction could alter their day, their path. God has placed you in even what seems are the most trivial moments for you to be a light to someone else. Don’t hide it and don’t get distracted or you’ll miss it.

2. We are called to be present in the season we’re in because we need to learn. This is a tough one for me to swallow sometimes, but there is a lesson in your season. Hard, big, small, easy, there is a lesson to be learned. Sometimes you are called to wait where you are because God is still orchestrating what’s ahead of you so it can come together in His perfect timing, in the way He seems fit (which is always better than you can imagine for yourself). But sometimes you’re still in the season you’re in because He still has a lesson for you to grasp, for your character to develop, that you need to seek and find Him and rely on Him where you are. He loves and cherishes you and wants the best for you, there’s no doubt about that, but He never promised it would be easy. And I don’t know about you, but the seasons that are the hardest and most challenging are the seasons I lean in the closest, the seasons where I have grown stronger in my faith, where I have heard God’s voice and felt His presence envelop me in my darkest moments. And when I’m in the next painful, waiting, or trying season, I can look back and see how God was working, teaching, and refining me, and it’s what helps me get through the next one. He is for you not against you, and no weapon formed against you shall prosper. But sometimes we need to be in the waiting. In the quiet. In the moments where it’s still warm summer and not yet fall because there’s still sun shining and bright days where we are if we just choose to see and enjoy them.

David had to wait to be king. He was called for a purpose, against the odds, but he had to wait for his time. He had to learn and grow in his season. God used his lowly shepherding days to prepare him for shepherding a kingdom. God will use your field to lead the kingdom, but it will happen in His timing, and when you are ready. When He is ready for you. Stepping into the kingdom too early will lead to your destruction. Use your field. Enjoy your field. Be where you are and look for opportunities to serve and grow.

God always fulfills His promises. The leaves always change. Fall always comes. But summer is good, y’all.

*sips pumpkin spice latte.

going for green // hawaii part one

It’s been nearly two months since we returned from Maui, and now we’re trying to soak up the rest of summer before it flashes past us.

I’ve always thought of myself as fairly environmentally conscious, but not to the extreme of the crazy tree hugger lady. No offense if that’s you. I applaud you, really; it’s just not where I’m at in life, but I am getting closer. Maui was so incredibly breathtaking, it felt like a dream. I kept repeating over and over (probably to the point of annoyance for Cassidy) as we drove around, or took in the views, or frankly just hung out at the beach: “Can you imagine what it would be like to live here?!” It was just hard for me to grasp what day in day out life would feel like. Island Brittany was certainly loving life, virgin drinks in hand. (Disclaimer again if you didn’t see my Insta stories: not pregnant. I just don’t drink.) But honestly, what a beautiful place to inhabit. With that though, we admired the care for the environment, common love for nature and its beauty that everyone respects. It’s just a way of life. Never in your face or boastful. They just serve paper straws instead of plastic. End of story. Every trash can also had a recycling receptacle. Target doesn’t have plastic bags. Bring your own or buy a cheap reusable one. Everyone was in on it. Being environmentally friendly was a cohesive effort and everybody cares. There are opportunities to see the implications right in front of your face if you choose not to abide and how it immediately impacts. Instant gratification of doing good.

This perspective lended Cassidy and I to discuss and come up with some simple action steps we can take to be more mindful of the impacts we have on the world around us:

1. Don’t use a straw or plastic lid unless I really need it. I like to think I’ll get a metal straw and keep it in my purse. I am really considering it, but I’m not sure how truly sustainable that is for my lifestyle. I am grateful to the mainland establishments that offer paper straws. We are trying to make more coffee at home, and I really don’t take drinks to go too often anymore. It seems like a metal straw is unnecessary for me at the moment, but maybe if you find yourself regularly getting those cold Starbucks drinks, it would be ideal to make the switch. If my lifestyle displays that more in the future, I will certainly invest. If we all cut down on the plastic we’re consuming, it can have huge effects for the waste we’re producing that is also impacting our environment and making its way to our oceans. Save the sea turtles! They are majestic creatures necessary to the ecosystem.

2. Recycling. Our apartment building has a trash chute in our hallway, but we have to go all the way down to the parking garage to recycle. It’s a brand new building, and I really wish they would have also included a chute for recycling, but they did not. Typically my choice to not recycle is out of convenience, but we are making the decision to recycle more, even when it is inconvenient. I have been trying to save a recyclable cup until I am in a place with proper disposal rather than conveniently dropping it in the closest trash bin.

3. Use coral reef safe sunscreen. While in Maui, Cassidy and I went on a SNUBA excursion with Trilogy. Honestly, if you are planning to go snorkeling while in Hawaii, pay for the upgrade and SNUBA. As our diver said, “Snorkeling is two dimensional, SNUBA is three dimensional and makes the reef come to life.” It was one of the coolest experiences ever. I will share more in an upcoming post about the experience, but it is not one to miss. Because of this experience though, we have a newfound appreciation for ocean wildlife and the reef. We didn’t know about the effects of sunscreen previously, but now that we do, choose wisely. Vote with your dollars. Get reef-safe sunscreen. In 2020, retailers in Hawaii will no longer be able to sell sunscreen that isn’t reef safe. Beautycounter is leading on the frontlines of this legislation. We used this one while on our trip and we were so thankful we invested, because we used a LOT of sunscreen in that Hawaiian sun!

a love like larry's

Have you ever gotten into a rabbit hole of seeing too much hate shared on social media? Our media can get so dark and heavy, and it can be overwhelming. Regardless of what side you stand on, although I do feel like social media only shows us a glimpse of a bigger picture, I feel like we need a good story shared. So I’m going to share one that needs to be told.

On a Friday in January, I drove to Virginia with my sister. On that Saturday, I attended my aunt’s funeral. She is my dad’s brother’s wife. She has had Alzheimer’s for the last twelve years, and had been in a nursing home for seven. We are celebrating her life because we know her heart belonged to Jesus, and it was time for Him to call her home. We are comforted because we know she is restored and worshipping Jesus. Her life was spent loving others and loving The Lord. But that’s not the only good story I’m sharing. The story I want to tell is of my Uncle Larry.

This man has not had an easy life. He went through brain surgery as an 18 year old and was delayed from graduating high school for three years. He met the love of his life, Hilda, and married her in 1970. He lost his father the following year to a heart attack. I never had the chance to meet my grandaddy. His sister followed from pancreatic cancer in 1992. He and Hilda lived next to my grandma for my entire life (but I know it was longer than that), until my grandma’s health started to deteriorate following complications and infection from a surgery when she was 84. Uncle Larry and my dad had to make the difficult decision to put my Grammie into a nursing home. Uncle Larry and Aunt Hilda went and visited her almost every day in the nursing home for four years, until she also went to be with Jesus, and Grandaddy, and Aunt Carol, in 2007.

During that time (you do the math), Hilda was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She eventually was no longer able to care for herself, as she was confused and risked getting lost. Larry had to also make the heartbreaking decision for her to go to a nursing home, despite her medication to slow the disease.

At this point, you’re probably wondering where is the feel good story I want to share. Ready for it? He visited her every day. Every day for seven years he went and spent time with her, and fed her, as she got to the point she could no longer do it herself. Sometimes he went twice in a day. For both Grammie and Hilda, he would read scripture and pray over them every evening when he visited. He would also bring a CD of worship music to play in her room. The only times he didn’t go were when earlier this winter the nursing home had to close its doors for ten days to visitors because of a flu outbreak plaguing the residents and staff. Larry himself got the flu during that time. I wonder where he picked it up? Outside of these times of illness, where we can count on our fingers the number of days he missed visiting his love, he went every day. He believes she recognized him up until that break. Who are we to say otherwise?

Following those few days, her health began to decline, and she went on to be with Jesus. He was with her when it happened. He had been with her all day and gone home to take his medicine. The staff called him to tell him to hurry as it wouldn’t be long. When he returned, he told her he was there, and after five more minutes together, she went to see Jesus.

The week following, Larry went through all the difficult decisions of what needed to be taken care of for the service and burial. He chose songs like “It Is Well,” and we mourned his loss in the same place we mourned my Grammie twelve years prior. He greeted family and guests with joy and hospitality. Just before the service began, the undertaker came to let him know they would be closing the casket and if there were any final goodbyes. I watched this man, who has not had an easy life of loss and pain, walk up to his love, and kiss her forehead one more time and return to his seat. I saw him sob and mourn his partner, who we know is in a better place, while his brother, my dad, cried next to him.

This is love. This is devotion. This is a partnership, a marriage. This is a man who never misses an opportunity to show his loved ones how much he cares. This is what I want to share. What should be shared. The good. There is good in this world. There are good people who love Jesus and love others. There are people who are real-life living The Notebook stories. He is to be commended and admired, for loving and cherishing, in sickness and in health, until death does part.

Larry will only ever read this if a family member shows it to him. He won’t see me share it on social media because he doesn’t have it. This story isn’t for him, because he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t need to be glorified, he wants that for Jesus. This story is for you. To know there is good. There is a good God who loves people. There are people on this earth living out His call to love others. Larry loves. I want to love others like Jesus loves. Like Larry loves.