Summertime on the Journey

Things have been quiet on the Journey these past weeks … on the blog, but not in real life. It’s been a whirlwind.

Life is like that. Activities carry you along like papers in a dust devil. You’re caught up in the moment and things meant to be accomplished are not even registered on the brain.

I like to cap off each month with a post celebrating the joys and lessons of the past month. However, we are hurtling through July’s mid-point this weekend; and I’ve not even thought about June …

So, I’m taking a moment to reflect today before climbing back up on crazy-train.

Bittersweet.

June offered up some bittersweet moments …

On Malia’s quarter-of-a-century birthday, my aunt took a nap before dinner and woke up to banqueting with Jesus and the angels.

My aunt was very special to me. She would tease me saying, “I’m your only blood aunt,” since the rest were aunts by marriage. She was the one who called me inviting me and my family to stay with her when my house was in danger of flooding. We ended living with her for 3 months while rebuilding. She never had anything bad to say about anyone.

She lived Jesus in her community – and everyone knew it. She didn’t have to preach about Jesus, she just lived Him as she raised her family, cooked for church functions, took care of the Sunday School records at church, and celebrated everyone’s special events by making them cakes.

While celebrating her life on June 13th, I saw many family and friends. It is a fact of life events such as weddings and funerals are the only time we pause long enough to connect with each other.

One of the couples I was excited to see was long-time friends, Mike and Marcie Lipe. They were the first couple I had met after moving to the Midwest as a young-married. They were full of life sharing about their adventures as retirees with an RV visiting the states with their grandkids.

Seventeen days later, I attended Mike’s funeral.

I was reminded, again, of the preciousness of life and how fleeting it really is …

Also, in June, a family reunion was attended. It was a wonderful time of food and fellowship; but, the most precious part in my eyes was the standing at attention before serving the food and reciting the pledge of allegiance to a small flag given the place of honor at the head table as part of a decoration with red, white and blue streamers bursting forth around it. As we quietly repeated our devotion to our country, I felt proud to be a part of a family that remembered to pledge and pray before we ate.

And then … JULY!

July for us this year meant a big family vacation to Florida. We all descended upon Grandma’s house – 6 adults and 3 grands – for a marathon of visiting beaches, shopping, eating and games.

I think it was pretty successful – we are all still speaking to each other – and we achieved our goal of actually being on the beach when the fireworks show began.

And now, I take a deep breath, open my eyes, and it’s back to life on the journey …

How’s YOUR summer going? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment and share.

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Today, I'm linking with the communities at Trekking Through the Week and #TellHisStory.