Hard to believe isn't it; Labor Day is behind us and forward looking folks are dreaming of cooler temperatures, autumn colored leaves and football being played for real in football-like weather. And all of this will happen soon enough.
For now, most of us are still enduring summer time. I'm spending this first week of September in North Carolina, visiting with my grandson and preparing to celebrate his 2nd birthday. Usually, North Carolina is always cooler than back home Louisiana, no matter what season we visit the Tar Heel state. Not so these past two days as highs have hit 95 and heat indices are at or over 100. My family tells me the same thing we are saying back home; that this is the hottest few days experienced all summer, that overall summer has been mild, and forecasters are calling for this to be short lived, with fall and winter weather expected to be both cooler than normal and wetter than normal.
After Labor Day things indeed change. Can't say it's back to school time as most of the kids returned in August, although some parts of the country waited until today. I know religious education programs, including CCD or PSR did not start until this week, at least in my neck of the woods. Schools and Churches generally just seem to get busier post Labor Day.
For me and my wife we plan to take it as God gives it and our truly #1 focus now through Sunday morning is Calvin, our one and only grandchild. It has been a lovely visit these past 2 days as Calvin seemed to warm up to us right away. Those weekly Skype sessions really help and this is our 3rd visit already in 2014. Calvin reaches the milestone of birthday #2 on Saturday and then sadly, Wendy and I return home Sunday. Fueled by what will be great memories of a great week, we will throw ourselves into our work, and fall season projects and of course, I will have ministry responsibilities out the wazoo! I am hoping to be baptizing two babies really soon, both born from a marital relationship that began with weddings I presided over. And fall brings that hectic "deacon schedule" of classes and assignments for our two groups in formation, both of whom I've wrote plenty about these past few weeks. It's already hard to believe that the initial retreat of the newly formed 2018 class is now about a month old. Time flies more quickly as we approach the end of the year; at least I believe this to be true.
Many folks, not involved in ministry and those who do not have kids in several different sporting events seem to dislike the end of summer and the beginning of fall. You hear things like vacation season is over, it's going to get dark sooner, it may be too cool, etc. I respond: are you kidding me? I love those things and many more about what is to be as September progresses and we move toward more fall-like reality. My favorite time of year begins in October and love it all the way through March. I can hardly wait.
So there is plenty to do now that Labor Day is over and the most important thing is to stay right with God and be even more involved with Church, and building that deep intimate relationship with Him. Even if you are a summer person, praise God in the cooler, darker reality of fall. Praise God for a return to school and jobs and ministries and, of course, football season!
Labor Day and summer is behind us, except for the temperatures, and I say embrace it!
No comments:
Post a Comment