I’ve always felt like the summer season just simply flies by. I wanted to start this year’s summer with intention and purpose. So, I took to the internet to brainstorm ideas for how to do just that. When I Googled “how to have a happy summer,” various websites boasted as many as 120 ways to celebrate the season. One website provided 50 tips for slow summer living. I’m not sure about you, but 50 ways to live slowly feels kind of fast for me — there was no way I’d be able to do it all. The numerous checklists and advice I found gave me more anxiety than peace. They seemed to suck the joy out of summer.
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Then I thought: Why rely on the internet when I can start at the source of all good things — God’s holy words in Scripture? When I turned to the Book of Proverbs, I found exactly what I needed to hear to ground me and gear me up for a healthy, happy summer ahead. Here are three Proverbs I’m reflecting on this summer:
“Better is a dish of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it.” (Proverbs 15:17)
For me, summertime means outdoor barbecues, cozy campfires, and delightful picnic spreads on the beach. I relish in the abundance of good food and religious visits to my farmer’s market every Saturday morning. But more importantly, I take stock in the importance of gathering together with friends and family.
This Proverb reminds me that it’s not so much what I do or what I eat, but who I’m with. Summer weekends call for family barbecues in the garden. It doesn’t matter what we serve — though we do enjoy flexing our grilling muscles — it’s the laughter, the story-telling, the quiet moments of reflection and contentment that mean the most. If the steak is a little overcooked or there’s too much char on the ribs, no one cares. What matters is the people we’re with; what matters is where love is.
Let’s make sure to gather together in love this summer — whether we’re serving herbed vegetables or a juicy hamburger.
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“Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
While I don’t have my own children at the moment, I do have several nieces and nephews who I visit frequently throughout the year. Some of the most special times we have are during the summer, when school’s out, the weather’s warm, and the outdoors practically beg for us to come and play.
Summer is a perfect time to teach kids life lessons by doing and showing rather than telling. With my nieces and nephews, I’ve planted flowers, caught frogs, and built sandcastles. These were great opportunities to teach them a bit about nature’s cycles, the advantages of an amphibian’s slime, and the perfect mixture of sand and water to make the castle’s walls stick but not drip down. We’ve tested kites at various wind speeds, mixed different colors of paints to see what we’d create, and jumped in rain puddles to see who could make the biggest splash.
Some of my best childhood memories are summertime ones. I loved and learned so much from my family’s hiking trips, road trips, and just being out in nature. For instance, my dad taught me how to fish, but in reality, he was teaching me so much more: Patience. Perseverance. Respect for God’s creation. Gratitude for good food. I wouldn’t trade these summertime lessons for anything.
Let’s cultivate these types of experiences for the children in our lives. They will remember what we teach them for a lifetime.
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“In seedtime sluggards do not plow; when they look for the harvest, it is not there.” (Proverbs 20:4)
We’ve all heard the saying: The “dog days of summer.” This describes the period when it’s hot, it’s sticky, and the days are long. On these dog days especially, I get the urge to kick back and do nothing. Sometimes, I feel lazy. Heck, even God rested on the seventh day after a week’s worth of work.
While it’s good, necessary, and holy to rest, overdoing it can usher in a feeling of malaise. There’s a fine line between resting and vegetating — or, as the cool kids say, “rotting.” When we rest, we should feel refreshed, energized, and ready to take on our work and daily lives with renewed vigor and groundedness. When we vegetate, however, rest doesn’t feel restful at all — we end up feeling groggy, slow, even apathetic.
Our Christian faith sets a good example for what intentional rest could look like: Keeping the Sabbath holy. Resting on Sunday from work, worries, and chores. Spending that time with our families, or in silence, and just reflecting and watching the world go by. I enjoy spending summer Sundays at Mass, pottering about the garden or reading on my backyard swing, and then watching the birds eat from my feeder as my husband grills our dinner. That keeps me centered for the week ahead.
This summer, let’s make sure not to cross the fine line between real rest and laziness. After all, we don’t want all the beautiful things about this season to pass us by. When we take full advantage of the season — while taking time to truly rest — we reap later wonderful memories of all the fun we’ve had and the love that overflowed in those moments.
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The Book of Proverbs teaches us how to live wisely and strive for the holy. Summertime is a fantastic opportunity to flex our spiritual muscles. Let’s approach the coming beautiful summer days with hearts full of hope. As the Book of Proverbs tells us, “A joyful heart is the health of the body, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones.” (17:22). Let’s keep our hearts light and full of joy to nourish our spirits — during both the lovely and dog days of summer!
