It is so hard for me to believe that next weekend is Labor Day weekend. LABOR DAY! Where, oh where, did the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were opening our up north abode and that I was writing about all the wonderful things to look forward to in this season. And now here I am, writing about the end of the season. This has gone fast, friends. Very fast.
The good news, however, is that summer isn’t quite over yet. [Insert deep sigh of relief] There are still plenty of opportunities to get out there and soak in the warm air and sunshine, and I don’t know about you, but this girl fully intends to revel in every. single. minute. of it whether I’m at the lake or the ranch. I want to take it all in before the fall and winter months force me to spend the majority of my time indoors next to a fire. Amen?!?
So as I sit on a blanket in the grass at home or hang out on the deck at the lake, fully enjoying the last days of summer, I’m also intentionally praying over and thinking about the next season and what is to follow in the months to come. I’m a planner by nature. Most of you know this by now. I get overwhelmed if I don’t have a list, a map, a guide of some sort, pointing me ahead in the direction I need to go. While I really do try to balance ‘having a plan’ with ‘being flexible,’ I have to visually be able to see what’s on my plate and what it all entails so I’m mentally prepared in advance. It empowers me and keeps me focused.
This year, there are many things to look forward to in the months to come, including: Labor Day weekend in Ludington with family and friends, football (Go Spartans!), working out *possible* new endeavors with regard to my ‘8 to 5’ life, attending the Influence Conference in Indianapolis, a possible trip to Chicago, my 30th birthday (woah!), and our 2nd Annual Fall Ball, not to mention of course the holidays (but let’s not get too carried away here … it’s still August!). Grin.
In beginning to think about the coming months, however, I definitely don’t want to bypass all of the goodness of this season because I do not take it for granted. At all. After a long, harsh and bitter winter, summer was necessary. These past few months have been FULL of abiding and remaining in Jesus, quality time spent with family and friends, connecting with my man, early morning sunrise walks and nights of admiring sunsets over the lake and through the trees, and travel, both to Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. There have definitely been some tough things to deal with in this season as well, as my patience has been tried with waiting for my foot to fully heal from injury and not being able to run yet like I did before, and then the pains that come from changes I sense God working out in regard to my career, and you know, trying to figure out what exactly it is I want to be when I grow up. (Is it just me on this one? Probably not.) In it all though, God has been speaking to me of His faithfulness and the hope I have in Him, as well as producing some new fruit that I would not have had if I didn’t commit to an intentional period of ‘letting go’ and resting in Him. I have truly been learning the truth that God does indeed work all things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), and for that, I am so very thankful. He is so good, friends. So good.
With all of that said, I write today with a content heart, one that is appreciative of what this year has worked out in me thus far, in the thick of it, and one that is very excited to take with me all of the lessons and treasures I’ve gained into the new season that is approaching. Good things await. As they say, the best is yet to come!
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