Embracing Summer: Reflections and Prayers for the Season

Happy Summer! We are blessed to have four seasons. I hope you find time to breathe in this season of light.

Recently, I discovered a book on my shelf I’d forgotten about: On the Wings of a Prayer by Kathy Culmer. I write in books, underlining pieces I like. My book is almost all underlined. Kathy has a unique, innovative voice in thoughts and prayers about faith and God’s love.

One of the Amazon review comments said,

Truly, this book lines up with Philippians 4:8 (NIV), which states: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This book is both EXCELLENT and PRAISEWORTHY!

What’s also fun is that I know Kathy from the Network of Biblical Storytellers. She is not only an incredible speaker but also a fantastic writer. With her permission to share, I selected some pieces that align with summer. I hope you will enjoy her writing. Each of these is a different day’s devotion.

The Lord must wait for (us) to come to Him so he can show (us) His love and compassion. Blessed are those who wait for His help. Isaiah 30:18 NLT

Lord, as You wait for us to ripen, to repent, to remember, to return, help us in our waiting for You, too. We can’t beat You waiting, no matter how much we think we have to do. While we wait for harvest, so do You. While we wait for our blessing to show, You wait for Your seed to grow. We wait to see the manifestation of the thing while You wait to see Your manifestation in us. Lord, You wait patiently for us. You wait lovingly for us. Help us as we wait on You.

Thank you and Amen.

Seeds that the earth does not receive simply fall on dry ground. They cannot grow. They cannot become. Same is true for life’s lessons delivered to us by seeds of experience. Unless we open ourselves to receiving these seeds, they lie dormant on trails not taken or dry up into nothingness on pathways of forgetfulness. They can never get inside and do the work they came to do, take root in us, grow us or produce their intended fruit.

Marinating tenderizes and adds flavor. It requires time and process for marinade to work its way inside and to the core. It is not a hurried thing, although sometimes we wish it were sometimes. We may even look for shortcuts. And while whatever it is we’re marinating turns out all right, even tastes pretty good, with the shortcut, truth remains, the longer the marinade sets, the more time is given, the more flavorful, the more tender, and the more digestible can the outcome when it has gone through the waiting. Likewise, the more time we spend marinating, the more we are filled with the marinade.

Kathy Culmer is an author, Christian educator, professional storyteller, speaker, teacher, and retreat leader. She is a graduate of Spelman College, the University of South Florida, and United Theological Seminary with a Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Storytelling.