Smelling the Roses

      Summer as a season seems to be made for taking a break.  I remember when I was younger, that waiting for summer got harder and harder the longer the month of May lasted.  It seemed like school would never end; the closer summer got, the harder it was to sit still.  The teachers I know agree, it gets harder and harder to keep every one's attention towards the end of the school year.

      I still can't wait for summer - especially when winter throws one last cold, snowy blast in our faces.  The longer, warmer days of summer seem meant for picnics, sipping lemonade, and lazing in a hammock.  However, we have succeeded in  swapping one schedule for another and summer has become crammed with its own set of activities: sports, vacations, visiting, gardening, do-it-yourself lists, games, and so on.  They sound like leisure activities until they are added together and compounded by the work that still must be done.  We have turned summer into one huge item on the "to-do" list that must be completed.

     In doing that, we have lost something we desperately need physically, spiritually, and mentally.  We get so caught up in doing what comes next that we forget to take the time to enjoy what is happening around us and things begin to unravel.  When we don't really see and appreciate the creation around us, we lose the impetus to work at caring for the earth entrusted to us by God.  When we are so busy going from one thing to the next, concentrating on completing tasks, we can lose track of caring for our relationships with the people around us.  And when all of these things are happening at the same time, we can lose track of caring for ourselves and ignore the warning signs our own bodies are giving us.  We are human and sooner or later, we will be reminded of how frail our bodies are.

      We need sabbath time; time away from work to rest and to pray.  God modeled this truth for us even at the beginning of creation, resting on the seventh day.  We are physically and spiritually built so that rest is vital to our survival. When every Sunday becomes one more day to work at play and when summer becomes a long season of work and busyness, we endanger our well- being.  

      So how do we get that rest and still meet the demands of our lives?  It's not always possible to carve out entire days or weeks for rest; our responsibilities get in the way.  But here is a way to begin: take time to breathe.  As God breathed life into Adam and Eve, as Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples on that first Easter(John 20:22); in our breath is life.

      It only takes a moment to sit quietly, head held up, breathe slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth.  You can do it anywhere, anytime just for a moment or longer.  Taking time to "smell the roses" in small doses helps center us into the present and can help calm the mind and heal the body.  Combined with prayer, we are reconnected with God.  Read Mark 6:30-32