What do you do in a slow season of life? I’ve heard them called the lazy days of summer, yet when my kids were growing up, summer felt anything but lazy. We ran from swimming lessons to ball games. Sports camps, church camp, Vacation Bible School, and weightlifting filled the calendar. Summer was full of fun, but it was anything but slow.
I never thought sandwiches would profoundly teach me a lesson about boundaries. Lunch was ready. Everyone had contributed something: three types of bread, two kinds of meat and three cheeses. As people began building their sandwiches, I was shocked by my internal reaction.
I walked a 1.5 mile trail near the campground through shady wooded areas that eventually opened into prairie land. While the terrain remained steadily flat, the landscape morphed throughout the walk. As I passed a lake, I noticed wildflowers growing along the path in vivid color.
The Ingredients of Summer Roxanne Converse-Whiting What is summer fun made of? Bikes and ball games, and swimming pool nights; And that’s what summer fun is made of.
Many people in our area contributed to the Cattlemen’s Ball this past weekend. It was an honor for Cozad to host an event of this size. Even more remarkable was the way people from across Dawson County and the state came together to support such an important cause: cancer research and prevention.
I was once told that the things that irritate us about other people often reflect something unresolved within ourselves. At first, I resisted that idea. Surely the problem belonged to them, not me. But over time, life kept placing mirrors in front of me. Eventually, I began to recognize my reflection staring back. Understanding did not come through theory or philosophy. It came through uncomfortable moments.
“In everyone there is something of his fellow man….Hence, ‘love you neighbor’–for he is really you yourself.” –Rabbi Moses Cordovero This well known commandment from the Bible is often understood to mean we should love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. I’ve even believed that, in order to keep this commandment, a person must first learn to love herself.
Have you ever had a week so stuffed to the brim that it felt like you didn’t even have time to breathe? I live a full life on a regular basis. Always have. Whether I was a teenager involved in every activity I could fit into my schedule or a young mom chasing three children while coordinating a MOPS group and VBS, I have always stayed busy.
My grandsons love to knock down a tower. I stack the blocks as fast as I can before they “boom” them down. Belly laughs echo through the room. Then I build again. Sometimes I keep two towers going at once so that when one crashes, another rises. It’s a perpetual cycle of construction and destruction. Not once have they felt sad when a tower topples.
I sat in the conference as the opening session began. Excited and eager to hear the keynote, I focused on the speaker. Then, I sensed a commotion beside me. A woman slipped in late, rushing to the chair next to mine. She dropped her bag to the floor and settled in. The whole experience felt distracting.
