Summer sweet and summer loss

With strangely extended cold weather, this was a summer that seemed would never really arrive. Now that the fourth has come and gone it feels like summer is really here and that it will too soon fade. My flowers and veggies are not their glorious selves yet. It’s been a slow growth year and the bugs are eating my zinnias as fast as they grow it seems.

 

With the sweet warmth of summer our family is also adjusting to loss. My brother in law died this June and he was truly one of the sweet things of summer. Many a pool side chat and photo shoot shared with him over the years. He was a sweet uncle to my kids. This summer 6 weeks after learning that he was going to leave us, he was gone. We thought we would have more time and more photos. Friends, remember to take photos of your loved ones. You will always wish for more.

 

Summer is still sweet. We have hosted family, entertained younger cousins with roasted marshmallows, thrown water balloons and driveway fireworks. We’ve eaten ice cream and watermelon, suffered in triple digits and savored the blue skies (when they are free of smoke).  We still have summer to enjoy and I aim to appreciate every day of it. 

 

This summer is a season of God’s faithfulness. We see His comfort and grace. We know His mercy and provision, and for awhile, we will walk in it in our barefeet.