Wake up calls arrive earlier on the cusp of summer days. I roll over hoping that the play of light and shadows will somehow dissipate in the morning haze. Then I remember how much I love the play of light and dark as summer stretches our days into magical forays of staying up late as the lengthening of summer days begins.
I adore summer. Some of my favorite memories fill the pages of my photo albums with summer activities, time at camp, and vacations. Summer takes the best of each season and uses them to her advantage. Beautiful colors, summer storm clouds, family gatherings, and the promise of more to come.
God is our Perspective-Changer and Promise-Keeper. We can find Him in the long summer days play of light and winter’s swirling, gray clouds. It’s all a matter of what you see through your lens. Are you focused or scattered, thoughtful or disparaging, hopeful or helpless, or grateful or self-centered?
What is Your Perspective?
What’s your stance on summer? Do you love it, dislike it, or do you fall somewhere in between? It’s a matter of perspective and preference. Beauty is present in each season.
Summer is my season–the long days, catching a glimpse of the first firefly of the season, watermelon, sitting outside to read, long walks, and the chance to embrace the summer slow down. It’s what I know and love. I find I am most like myself in the summertime when I align myself with the rhythms of slowing down and breathing deep.
But no matter what your perspective is on the seasons, you will find God in each detail. He takes light and shadow and displays it in intricate patterns to create a unique setting that portrays each season. God had you and me in mind when He presented each season’s extraordinary beauty as a reflection of our love for different things.
Our differences are worthy of celebration and conversation. Our uniqueness sets us apart in physicality but brings us together when we connect emotionally and spiritually. We live in a time where perspective is not always valued and differences are not celebrated. It doesn’t just look like a preference for your favorite season.
Making the Switch from an Individual Perspective to a Broader Acceptance
If I only focus on my love for summer days and you don’t agree with this view, you either have already stopped reading or are finished following along now. If instead, I share what I love about each season, there is a good chance you will continue to track my thoughts with me. But how do we take our narrow views and opinions and broaden the scope to see beyond our likes and dislikes?
Jesus came to bring hope to the marginalized and new life for all. He stood in the gap for Gentiles and Jews and modeled love for both. Jesus never once looked at the world with a narrow perspective. He chose us all and patiently waits for each of us to choose Him in return. After Jesus spent forty days in the desert facing temptation at every turn, He preached in the synagogue on Sabbath. On one particular occasion, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah.
Jesus brought history to life in these words:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, freedom for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.” (Luke 4:18-19, TPT)
Jesus declared a time of acceptance two thousand years ago. It wasn’t just for that time and place. It was for all time–yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We are called to accept all lives–black lives, brown lives, the poor and marginalized, the homeless, the motherless, the fatherless, the widows, and all who walk on this earth. The time is now.
The Time is Now
An uncertain world plays havoc on my emotions, senses, and perspective. I am the first to admit that my view starts to narrow when the world leans toward chaos. It’s my way of grabbing onto some kind of control. I’m the girl that tries to claim a deep sense of knowing as my way to seek control. I am not saying it is right and it’s hard to write these words here in this space. The good news is that I can change.
Jesus is in the hard and the holy. He sees my weaknesses and gives me the strength to overcome them. If God takes the time to do that for me, and more, just think what He will do for you.
Jesus knows your perspective and wants to grow it into a greater acceptance and love for all.
Jesus sees you when you struggle with reaching out because you either don’t know the words or are afraid of the repercussions.
It is in the light and shadow of the summer days that I pray we broaden our perspective and grow into a deeper acceptance so together we may experience freedom.
Jesus came to bring hope to the marginalized and new life for all. Jesus never once looked at the world with a narrow perspective. We shouldn't either. #TellHisStory #linkup Share on XClosing Prayer
May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers. (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, MSG)
I find there are so many thoughts running their course through my mind these days. I know I am just touching the surface and digging deeper is something I am working on in my quiet time. God and I need to work this out together and I know that is okay.
I pray your week is a perspective changer because of our Promise-Keeper!
***There will not be a Tell His Story linkup next week. I am taking the week off to allow for some mind and heart space as well as to help my kids move into their new house. The linkup will return on July 7. Let me know if you have any questions.
*** Thank you for being part of this community. I see you and love your heart for community. I wouldn’t be here without you. Summer is a time to step back and slow down. Please know I support you 100% if you take a week, a month, or the whole summer off. 🙂
Hi Mary,
I’m sure you had a wonderful time with your family during this time of reflection and celebration. It’s funny how one’s preference for the seasons changes based on where you live or your lifestyle.
Summer in Arizona is not my favorite season unless we are escaping to some mountain resort with out trailer to camp in the great outdoors where it is cooler. We’ve also learned to carve out a niche with friends along the Central Coast of California in a campground there. But this year, who knows.
I think I’m more like you when it comes to speaking out on critical issues unless I know the person with whom I am sharing quite well. I’m guarded even if I have some solid ground for my perspective.
Thank you once again for providing this space where we can share our writings once a week. I appreciate it.
It sounds like we share some similarities in how we approach difficult issues. I understand why summer is not your favorite. Sometimes I question my love of summer. We have been hit with a heatwave for the last two weeks so it is unbearable past 11 am in the morning. I am praying we accept other perspectives because it is what God wants us to do.
I’m an Autumn Girl – but I believe in vintaging the grace and God out of every season – Summer is hydrangeas, zinnias, grilling, summer showers and thunder that rumbles but doesn’t threaten. All seasons have their value and their beauty – and God fills each one with His goodness! Your message goes straight to my heart – and it is meat for the season “It’s all a matter of what you see through your lens” – I want my lense to capture all God has for me in all seasons, all places, all people! Wishing you refreshing and joy in this week with your kiddos! Shalom! ~ Maryleigh
You live in a beautiful place to enjoy Autumn. Each season brings something unique for us to celebrate. We live, now more than ever, in a space of time where perspective is leading us closer to God or farther away. Thanks for being here, Maryleigh.
Oh, Mary … I am not a huge fan of summer because of the heat and the mosquitoes, but I do love living where there are four seasons and many months of gardening opportunities. 🙂 I so appreciate your thoughts about considering others’ perspectives, as well as your example of working through these things in your time alone with God. I hope your week away is refreshing and that the move goes well!
I really enjoy experiencing the four seasons. It sounds like gardening is a love of yours too. I’m growing a few herbs and tomatoes but that is all I have room for. Even though we don’t agree on loving summer, we can respect each other and know that it is okay to have different perspectives. Blessings on your week.
Summer is not my favorite. It’s way too hot in Texas and less structure for my kiddos makes it harder for me to get my work done. I do enjoy extra time with them, though. But this summer already feels like a million years long since we started in March. I’m praying for stamina and patience.
I am thinking that not everyone is going to welcome summer with the same like or dislike after the very long spring and isolation. I’m joining you in prayer for stamina and patience.
Yes, Christ’s example was not only to accept all people but to love them too!
Ultimately He comes first in how we demonstrate that love 😉
Bless you Mary,
Jennifer
Amen. God is first and it makes all the difference when we remember that. Here’s to choosing love and sharing it with everyone.
Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons. I LOVE summer activities, but not always the extreme heat and humidity that accompany the summers here in the south. LOL!
Thanks so much for hosting, Mary! God bless you! 🙂
I don’t know many people who love the heat and humidity. Thanks for joining us this week. Blessings to you.
Summer is my favorite season. I love the long days, and am already mourning that we’ve peaked for the year and are now on the other side of the longest day of the year. ha.
I love your focus that Jesus’s message of inclusion is for all times, including our times. Yes, the time is now, I agree!
Enjoy the time helping your kids move into their new house. They must be so excited!
You have really inspired me, Lisa. You are listening, learning, and taking what you know and sharing it with others. The time is now and remains complacent is not the answer. I am a thinker and taking time to sit with God will help me as I move forward. I will be taking care of Jack so I will be very happy. 😊
I am grateful that God sees me as I struggle. Struggle for discernment. Struggle for a broader view and shift where necessary. So many challenges – but He does see us in our struggle. I’m grateful for He walks beside me!
God does see us in our struggles and still has the patience and grace to walk us through them. There is so much to sift through but we are blessed to have the One who knows all the answers. May you find time to just be with Him this week.
I love everything about summer – the warm weather, the relaxed atmosphere, cooking and eating outside, As former teachers, we are predisposed to love summer. Enjoy your time with your family! 🙂
I know a big part of my love for summer comes from all my years of teaching and being off in the summer. But there is something magical about summer that I don’t feel in any other season.
Mary, there IS SO much to think about and I’m with you, the Lord and I are talking often about the “so much.” xo
I agree, Susan! It feels very overwhelming at times. I’m praying for some rest for my mind next week.
Enjoy your break, and may moving the kids go smoothly . I love how you tie this together, the summer and our perspective. Inward to outward our perspective must move if we are to mature. I think of God, and how his perspective is on us, not himself.
Dear Mary,
Springtime is my favorite season, but I am learning to look for God’s gifts in each season. It really is a change in perspective–just as He is always asking us in so much of the way that we look around us. May I open my heart to see with His new eyes now too. It’s nice to be back here for a brief check-in before my own blogging break continues next week. May the Lord bless your time away next week!
It’s good to see you, Bettie! Thank you for taking the time to stop in. I pray you let God hold you close during your break. I am still praying for an answer to your challenges with RA.
I love that you are taking time off to help your kids and contemplate with God.
Yes, Jesus stood in the gap. I want to do that too. We sometimes look at things with having two choices, right or wrong, when Jesus always seemed to find the 3rd choice. I also want to respond like Jesus, but I fail so often. Spending time with Him helps. Thank you for your thoughtful post.
Jesus did have a third way and it was always better than the first or second choice. He looked through the lens of His Father and that is the lens I want to see through too. I pray we all take time to listen and hear from God. I know when I do it makes all the difference.
Mary, I live in the South where summers tend to be long, humid, and buggy. But there are aspects of each season I enjoy. And I need God to shape my perspective everyday.
I know about humidity but I am sure that it feels much worse where you are. I am joining you in asking God to help me with my perspective. He knows and He will teach us if we let Him.
Yes for a broader acceptance, I must admit to finding it frustrating that dialogue and conversation are being shut down in argument and rhetoric! Thank you Mary for your reflections, enjoy your mini-break and be blessed with the peace of the Lord.
We live in strange times but there is no excuse for lack of acceptance and the unwillingness to listen and learn from others. I am praying we open up our hearts, minds, and souls to all God wants us to learn and experience in our lifetime.
Mary,
Summer is already in full swing in the south. The air is getting more hot and humid by the day. This, along with what’s happening in our world, makes you want to hide indoors. Now, more than ever, we need to view what’s happening through God’s eyes and look to see where we can be a breath of fresh spring air.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Beautifully said, Bev! I know there are days that hiding inside feels so much safer than facing the world. I pray we all slow down enough to hear from God as He shows us how to love others.
One of the multitude of reasons we need to spend time every day with Him is so that our perspective becomes more and more like His.
I agree, Barbara. The more we grow our relationship with God the more we learn to see the world as He sees it.
Mary, what a beautiful post. Like Joanne mentioned, I love each season. Just as I begin to tire of one, the next one begins to make its presence known. I believe each season, like our life seasons, has beauty and difficulty in it.
Thank you for the way you discussed broadening our perspective. I love that you are praying and being intentional in how you approach all that is going on in our country right now. There is so much wisdom in your words.
You live in a beautiful part of the country so enjoying the seasons is an added benefit. I’ve never been the person to speak out without first thinking, praying, and processing. Sometimes I wish that I could “think on my feet” more quickly. But God made me who I am and the fact that I listen and take longer before I speak out is okay. I pray you find time to lean in and hear what God might be teaching you about perspective.
And He is in every season. Amen to the prayer! Thanks for this encouragement. Many blessings to you!
Isn’t it the best news? God is not only in all of the seasons, He is with us every minute of every day.
Mary, as I sat thinking on your words, I came to realize – I truly do not have a favorite season 🙂 I love them all! Each season brings a change of pace and a uniqueness which I enjoy. I also look forward and anticipate the change in seasons. Enjoy your time off and with your family. They are blessed to have you!
I love the change of seasons too. I’m grateful to live in a part of the country that experiences all four seasons. I’m looking forward to stepping back for a week. My brain has been on overload.
That first summer day when I am free to walk out the door with no jacket, no sweater, my world is enlarged–and I love the way you challenge me here to experience that same expansiveness in my thinking here.
Enjoy your break. You are a gift to your sons, and I am sure they know it!
There is so much to see and learn in summer. There is a sense of expansiveness and freedom. What better time to dive a little deeper into how others view the world.
My sons are a gift to me too.