Summer Blessings

My three-year-old just came inside with a fuzzy caterpillar on a stick. She wanted her older sister to take some pictures of it for her. She hadn't ever seen one like it before. Does anyone enjoy summer more than a child? OK, well, maybe I do. As long as I can remember I have spent my entire year waiting for summer, and then spent my summer hoping and praying it lasts as long as possible. Summer is without a doubt my favorite season. Oh, please don't misunderstand, I thoroughly enjoy every season and appreciate the variety each one brings. But summer...there's just something about summer that makes me come alive. There's something about it that makes me smile. What is there about this season of heat that brings such delight? I'm not really sure. Don't ask me to tell you why though. Once started, the list goes on and on and you get the idea. Is it the green growth all around me? the garden? the sound of the sprinkler? clothes snapping on the line? children laughing? Popsicles dripping down the chin? corn on the cob? hamburgers on the grill? sun on the skin? swimming? reading books? birds singing? bugs buzzing? flowers blooming? yes, yes, and yes! It is all of that and more. It's fireflies and fishing, picnics and camping. It's hoeing in the garden and lying in the shade napping. It's dew in the morning and the coolness of night. It's smelling the earth growing and long days of light. For a few months out of the year, all of the senses are open and awake. Sounds, sights, scents, tastes, and textures that are only there during summer. Creamy sauces that coat the tongue during the winter are replaced by the clean, fresh taste of garden vegetables and homemade salsa. The light pastels of spring fade away as the crisp, vibrant flowers bloom and explode with color. All of these experiences will continue on into Fall, yet their intensity will be lessening as the days get cooler and the nights lengthen. Summer is the exclamation point on the end of WOW! Not everyone shares my enthusiasm for summer. There are people who feel the season of all seasons is, believe it or not, Winter. For others, Spring is perfection. Still others revel in Autumn's abundance. That's why we're a body made up of many parts designed for differing functions. Were it not for each season's varied blessings, the magnificence of the year would be lost; just as without many functions, the perfection of the whole body would be missed. Thank you, God for Summer, for Autumn, Winter, and Spring. Without them all we'd miss out on so many wondrous things. No matter what your favorite season is, I pray that you are enjoying the colors, the sights, the smells, and the sounds God has brought us this summer. Hmmmm, I just had a random thought fly through my head. It has to do with the seasons and the Jewish New Year. Hmmmmm, see you later. I'm going to study on this a little more. Tell you what I find out later. Love from the Father, Blessed Mama