Sunday Afternoon Tea

Carpe Diem!

My ponderings this week have been scattered abroad as one would plant wildflower seeds but most come under the umbrella of... Carpe Diem... seize the day.  Although in the heat and humidity of summer I think it would be more like... embrace the day.  Seizing requires too much energy at the moment.

While I am not fond of summer's heat (and this has already been an extraordinarily hot season), I do love the extended light of day and all the life around me.  Well, except the spiders and the mosquitoes.  But you know what I mean... for this is the time of year one can plant a seed in the ground and almost see it grow.

I have come to learn that there are seasons of life in which joy does not naturally occur, that to feel the joy and experience the joy, one must embrace that which brings joy first.  I need to have planted the garden to see it grow and write the e-mail (or better yet, a real letter) for a response and to think about making my husband's favorite cake for Father's Day or look through the cookbook for something new to try.

I can either sit in a chair and mope and mutter or I can put on my walking shoes and go outside to hear the ever present symphony of bird songs.  There is always the temptation to watch a rerun of a TV show I've already seen two times before instead of taking a book off of the shelf which I've wanted to read for ages or sit on the porch reading through Valley of Vision and absorbing the beauty of written Puritan prayers.

To truly seize the day... in spite of any and all adverse circumstances... one has to do instead of just respond and think of ways to take advantage of all that is lovely summer has to offer.  Some days I find that easy as I wake up to beautiful weather and all needs met for the day... and even a few Godly desires.  I feel thankful for the breeze as I'm watering the garden and chat with the One Who Created Me about the miracle of planting and sowing.

I must admit there are other days in which I do not want to embrace the day... much less go about seizing anything.  When I'm not feeling well or the bank account is zero or there is a stack of dirty dishes waiting to be done and I'm already exhausted from getting dinner.  When people are cranky and Victoria is in a snit and my patience has run quite thin and I want to shout out, "Beam me up Scotti God!".

But there is something about Summer which doesn't allow melancholy to last for long.  It is a season which asks to be seized... or at the very least embraced. Those of us who live in northern climates realize how brief are the days of warmth and sun.  Gardeners and farmers alike often feel as if the seeds are planted and they blink and the harvest has arrived. 

Children are the most free in Summer and perhaps more than anyone truly embrace all that the season gives us.  I also must admit having quite fond memories of my late teenage years driving in my Mustang with my girlfriends... the aroma of Coppertone and the sounds of WLS Chicago coming from the radio.

Jesus said we are to "become like little children" and I've been thinking of that quite often lately as I awake with Carpe Diem in my thoughts.  I will embrace each day in spite of some challenges and because of many gifts from Above and most of all because I know I'm just passing through and there will be a day when there are no dark nights or lack or illness or spiders the size of Buicks in my bathroom in the middle of the night.

That is a thought worth embracing each and every day.  In the meantime... He only asks that we lean on Him and His Word and we'll do just fine thank you... embracing and seizing and learning to look forward to each and every day He gives us on the planet.