We’re in June, and before us are all the possibilities it holds: school being done, exciting vacation plans, better weather, long days, freedom! It might sound strange that I’m looking forward to school being done as much as all the kids around me, but my husband is taking the summer off of classes. We have plans to take a road trip to Virginia for my brother’s wedding, and although Babycakes isn’t the best passenger, I’m still excited. The idea of having time to “play” all summer long, which includes fishing for him and, yes, writing and blogging for me, seems too good to be true!
And, as I think about it, it probably is. You see, where there’s play, there’s work. We might have termites, there’s a bathroom to (finally) add, floors to be jacked up (doesn’t that sound interesting? I have no idea what it will mean!), an upstairs to insulate, and at least two other projects that I’ve forgotten here.
I find that sometimes I will anticipate something that was never a possibility, so that I have to be careful not to build a castle in the air and suffer the disappointment of reality. I wonder if this is a unique trait; I’ve done it my whole life. I look forward to something—in this case, summer break—and I build it into this fabulous, impossible pipe dream. Then, lo and behold, summer break is here, and it’s not at all what I wanted it to be. The problem, you see, is that it never could be what I wanted it to be.
However, I have also found that, if I can crawl up out of my moping, there’s often a “prize” waiting for me. It might be an evening of unmitigated writing or extra time suddenly available to curl up with a nice thick book. It might be time with someone I’ve been missing, or a phone call from someone I was wanting to talk to (though I might not have even thought of it!).
It reminds me, again, of just how wonderful our lives are, when we let them be. God always blesses me more than I (a) deserve or (b) expect. Asking for a chocolate pouf, I will land a chocolate house! That’s not to say I can expect the extra, because I don’t seem to ever catch on (God must really love me to be so patient with me!).
As you find yourself looking forward to a long luxurious summer, I pray that you do not find yourself moping at what might seem at first to be disappointments. And when things turn out differently than you want or expect (and it’s almost guaranteed that they will at some point), I pray that you find the blessing that’s there for you.