Even if winter is your favorite season, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who does not revel in the spirit of summer.  Ever since I began school as a child, I quickly learned that there is nothing quite like summer vacation.  Summer is a time for enjoying the outdoors as much as possible, for family vacations, for fireflies, for ice cream, for watching the world go by while drinking lemonade on the front porch, for sleeping in, for staying out late, for swimming, for sunburns, for family reunions, and for resting before the fervor of the Fall takes off.  Although I enjoy all of the seasons, I have come to love and appreciate summer more and more, especially as my life gets all the more busy with each passing year. 

I deeply believe that people need rest and vacations and time to do whatever we’d like to do.  Some might argue that I’m lazy – which might be somewhat true – but I like to think that I maintain a healthy balance in my life.  For a majority of the year, our lives are marked by crazy schedules, papers and labs, deadlines, too little sleep, and often too much stress.  I certainly do not need to remind you all of this reality.  We are productive people, especially with a culture like ours that is rooted in the “Protestant Work Ethic,” and by doing so, we provide for our families necessities and enjoy many comforts and entertainment.  Comfort and entertainment are pleasurable, but I often wonder if we have become addicted to our TVs and ATVs, computers and gaming systems, DVDs and MP3s, new outfits and newly outfitted entertainment systems, etc. 

Personally, I think we need to rethink our priorities.  I am reminded to two sets of Bible verses, one from the Hebrew Scriptures and one from the New Testament.  Genesis 2:2-3 states:

       And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that  he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work he had done in creation. 

God recognizes that work is good, but that it is also important to rest.  God values time to rest so much so that the Sabbath day is “hallowed” – it’s a holy day that is special.  I think that when we rest we can take a step back from our labor and our projects.  We can set aside our stresses and refocus on other things that will revive our spirits.  We can also take time to reprioritize what is important in our lives.  Is life about working to obtain more, or is life about sharing with one another in communities of love and support?  Is life about consumerism and entertainment or about relationships and creativity?  The two creation stories of Genesis clearly demonstrate that life is a gift from God.  I hope that by working too hard and too frequently, we are not squandering this gift.  In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says,

     Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

It seems to me that hording riches and gaming systems and cars is not where our focus should be.  Maybe if we put a little less effort into obtain consumer goods and entertainment we might better care for one another, and help to ensure food and shelter for all people.  Maybe if we took some more time out of our busy schedules to rest and reflect, we might recognize that the best joys of this life are free – like watching the stars on a muggy August night, or chatting with friends on a hike through the woods.  Enjoy your summer…and don’t forget to sleep in!