What I did on my summer vacation
Ah, yes. The time-honored (and oft lampooned) paper that one writes upon returning to grammar or middle or junior or senior high school.
The other day I looked in the sky and saw the first "V" of geese traveling... south. Where, oh where has summer gone? I have not yet taken my vacation. I have been treading water, trying to keep my head above the fray at work, yet not appearing to make headway. The summer has zipped by one weekend at a time either exhausted or booked with flying or driving to Michigan or doing a 'gig'.
I remember July 4th. A blur follows and here I am a few days before my 56th birthday. I have hardly had time for golf or making down to the Jersey shore to relax.
Time has a way of passing. It passes us by or - on rare occasion - we pass beyond it.
Have you been in the fast track, even in these recuperation months? To the teachers among us - isn't the 1st day of school coming up quickly? With Memorial Day in the not too distant past -- it's unnerving to see Labor Day approaching with intense insistence.
During your summer vacation did you stay close to home? attend your parish church? volunteer for a community group or local vacation Bible school?
Did you play golf or go sailing or walk the beach? Have you read a good book (or two or three)?
Time has flown by..... but not for some. For those who have lost a loved one a single day freezes time - even in July or August. Time on this level can have a fierce grip on us.
The heartbroken, the lonely, the bereaved, the unemployed, the homeless, the addicted, the distressed have had little or no vacation to speak of. There has been no rest, no break, no relief. The colors of this life are not as vibrant to them. They may not notice that the sun is rising a bit later and setting a bit earlier as the days pass.
Take the time in these waning days of summer to help those whose struggle to live one day at a time. Pray with them, pray for them. Offer what you can and take no offense if they refuse your generosity.
It will take time and love and patience for them to get back into the general rhythm of things. And you will have done something meaningful on your summer vacation.
The other day I looked in the sky and saw the first "V" of geese traveling... south. Where, oh where has summer gone? I have not yet taken my vacation. I have been treading water, trying to keep my head above the fray at work, yet not appearing to make headway. The summer has zipped by one weekend at a time either exhausted or booked with flying or driving to Michigan or doing a 'gig'.
I remember July 4th. A blur follows and here I am a few days before my 56th birthday. I have hardly had time for golf or making down to the Jersey shore to relax.
Time has a way of passing. It passes us by or - on rare occasion - we pass beyond it.
Have you been in the fast track, even in these recuperation months? To the teachers among us - isn't the 1st day of school coming up quickly? With Memorial Day in the not too distant past -- it's unnerving to see Labor Day approaching with intense insistence.
During your summer vacation did you stay close to home? attend your parish church? volunteer for a community group or local vacation Bible school?
Did you play golf or go sailing or walk the beach? Have you read a good book (or two or three)?
Time has flown by..... but not for some. For those who have lost a loved one a single day freezes time - even in July or August. Time on this level can have a fierce grip on us.
The heartbroken, the lonely, the bereaved, the unemployed, the homeless, the addicted, the distressed have had little or no vacation to speak of. There has been no rest, no break, no relief. The colors of this life are not as vibrant to them. They may not notice that the sun is rising a bit later and setting a bit earlier as the days pass.
Take the time in these waning days of summer to help those whose struggle to live one day at a time. Pray with them, pray for them. Offer what you can and take no offense if they refuse your generosity.
It will take time and love and patience for them to get back into the general rhythm of things. And you will have done something meaningful on your summer vacation.
posted by Joanna Depue | 2:50 PM
1 Comments:
I read somewhere or heard somewhere to always be gentle when approaching a person because you never know of the battles they are fighting or have fought.
Being gentle to yourself is hard too.
And I also ask you - WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO? WAS YESTERDAY MAY 15TH AND IS TOMORROW AUGUST 29? DID I SLEEP THROUGH THEM OR RUN SO FAST THAT THE CLOCK AND CALENDAR WERE IGNORED?
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