I don't know about you but boy am I digging my heels in summer this year. I know the incredible weather and the lazy days are coming to an end and I am not quite ready to embrace the pumpkins and falling leaves of Fall just yet. It's like I can't quite get enough of a good thing. Summer has become comfortable. Fall means change, and change means letting go. Yet parts of me shudder at my own pettiness as I complain of the 'busyness' ahead and the questions of when the pumpkin spice latte will be released to mark the season change! Talk about first world problems! What I need more than the acceptance of a seasonal change is the acceptance of a perspective change.
Why does my heart continually tether to such ideas of entitlement so easily? It is a constant battle to re-focus my lens on the joys of my reality. Today I am alive. Today I have a husband who adores me. Today I will tuck my beautiful children into bed. Today my family is provided for. Today I live in freedom. Today I remember my sweet angel awaiting me. Today is nothing short of a miracle, filled with blessing upon blessing. Today I am blessed so that I may be a blessing to OTHERS! Yet here I stand pouting about the summer ending. It's like I know what I need to do, but still don't do it. Sigh. I am like the author Paul in Romans when he says (Rom. 7:21-23MSG) "It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge."
Thankfully, there is hope. I am not left powerless to my own ego-centric ways. I can reverse such a rebellious heart. We see in verse 25 that it is only through Christ and His strength that I can (if I so choose to) refocus my lens, and re-adjust my heart back to His. I can cut the strings of entitlement and despondency and embrace the beauty of today. If you too are feeling the waves of apathy with the upcoming change in season, I encourage you to shift not only your seasonal wardrobe but your perspective as well! Ultimately, I am reminded that life here on earth is just a blip on the timeline of eternity. We are made for more than this. We only have so much time to do what God has called us to, so we must make our lives count for more than just our own selves. One day I will no longer struggle with the balance of living fully here on earth with a part of my heart already in heaven. One day I will be in wholeness, and all will finally be made right. The enemy may trick you into thinking that the best has come and gone, yet we know the best is yet to come! So come Lord Jesus Come!
