Summer is here! The earth is fully renewed! So why aren’t I? “Come, Holy Spirit,” we sing, “renew the face of the earth.” Doesn’t that include me – all of us? I run, I bike ride with my husband, we sail on weekends…and maybe that’s the problem right there – too busy; no time to sit and think; no time to smell the roses; no time to rest. Summer comes and we try to squeeze as many activities into it as we possibly can. That’s understandable, of course, with six to seven months of winter behind us, we want to be outside, we want to celebrate warmth and greenery, water and light.
Is it my age then? Is that why I’m so tired? Is it my worries; are they what are exhausting me? Bingo! So, instead of renewing the face of the earth, renew my faith and trust. I don’t know about you, but I need to trust that God will handle those things I cannot change…I need to trust that those things I want changed are in his hands and he will ‘handle’ them according to his will. Clearly, I’m not always in sync with God. In my prayers I plead, bargain, cajole. Clearly I’m not paying attention when, in praying the Our Father I say, ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ There are times when I deliberately ignore that phrase, with a ‘yes but’ attitude. You know – ‘yes Lord, but I don’t think you quite understand where I’m coming from…let me just explain.’ Give it up. He understands our thoughts better than we can attempt to articulate them.
The other morning when I was out running, the sun was just coming up over the trees, birds were singing, insects were buzzing and I felt like I could run for miles and miles. I truly felt renewed. Everywhere I looked I was treated to his beautiful creation – nothing man-made, but for the hay bails in the fields, the barns and fences.
So, when we find ourselves drained of energy, bereft of spirit, we need to sit in the quiet of a church and talk to God. I picture him rolling his eyes and thinking to himself – you again! But I know that really he wraps his arms around us because we soon feel his love envelop us, calming our concerns. If the church is not easily accessible, find a place to sit and meditate on God’s caring nature, preferably in a place that’s filled with his beauty. Sit in a garden, a park, smell the flowers, listen to the birds…just let go and let God do the rest. Trust me, renewal will come.
