lush, green and vibrant

Summer is the time that flies by. People view it as fleeting, something to chase. The common thread of this season is that the common man describes it as entertaining, but never satisfying. We always wish that we did more on the bright, breezy days when we were stuck inside working, writing papers for summer school, or simply because it's summer and we were too lazy. The other side to summer is what she is best known: sunny days and the continuous cycle of the growing flowers that began in the spring. Along with the rain, summer is a season of growth. It is a break between the sweet spring and the crisp fall. Personally, the sweltering fire of the sun is not something I bask in like most, or even enjoy. I am a fan of the cold weather. The season not of death (like most of my friends would argue), but vision. One where I can see through the trees due to their lack of leaves, a time of clarity. Yet the summer calls me by name every morning when I wake up. It says, "Get up, you have calculus today" or church, or Wired training, or a paper to write for English, or Jesus whispering for me to crack open my eyes early in the morning for a word. There will always be a time of preparation, studying, or relaxation over the summers. It is a time where a person is designed and designated to develop.
I find myself constantly wanting to skip the growing pains of summer and jump right into the certainty of winter. Daily I hear myself wanting to take an easy way, the unordained street of self. The Father calls me to a road less traveled, one that He calls each of us into fellowship and prosperity with Himself. As a God well deserving of every ounce of glory, He knows the moments of the grass growing greener is what makes the lawn beautiful. The completion of the flowers in a garden or on a porch set up the atmosphere. It is not only beautiful but a process of intimate detail. He calls us into those intimate details. Jesus wants us to look upon these growing pains with joy. These are the times where we are called. We feel Him working in our sprit, notice Him throughout our days, and get energized by His presence. When we become aware of where growth must occur, we become extremely humbled. How unexplainable of a God would become so small as to be interwoven into our lives and thoughts? His gracious acts that bring us to our knees and break our hearts due to our sin are some of the most vast times of deliverance! Knowing that we do not have all the answers, that we are not the best teachers, or that we will never attain perfection can be wearisome. We always crave being the best, having the best things, knowing something someone else does not. Yet, the Greatest One who knows all these things and has all the answers takes all the payload. When we fully grasp this concept (never) will be the day we have finished growing.
The life that flourishes during this time of year is eye opening. Every one gawks at the Botanical Gardens and seems mystified by the beauty. Not only does new life of the Kind reign in new family's hearts and souls, but reaches to the farthest places and depths we never thought He could attain. I always go back to the mountains in Costa Rica. The summer was hot in Alajuelita, but there was a grand breeze that was constant, quite unlike the southeast of the United States. That breeze does not just call me back everyday because of the great views the country offered. In fact, the only "beautiful views" were this picture. The streets of this city lay in ruin from poverty and grief. The summer in Costa Rica cries out to me because of the budding fellowship and voice of God that week. How many times do I crave that week over again on repeat? I cannot describe to you the artistry in the fresh and promising breath of a God who loves us.
A segment of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:6) reads, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Just as hunger and thirst are keen to our appetites, our craving for the Father's heart and mind is what defines us. The process of our growth is found in chasing after Him. We experience life itself within Him, and it is life to the full. The most vibrant colors of this everlasting relationship scream their beauty to a dying world, longing for more than what they have. People are unconsciously dying for the Father's Life, not realizing their opportunity for initial commitment and further development as beautiful new creations with a hope and future. It is our calling to now reveal the lush, green and vibrant season of loveliness and power to the wilting and cold among us. As we draw nearer to the One of life change, we become broken but full at the same time. We overflow with blessing and the rain of a Heavenly Father with a mighty Love that still pours.