Lessons from Long Summer Days
I have so many memories of summertime as a kid. I don’t know why, but summer stands out the most to me. Most summer days, my mom would take us to the pool to spend the day. I was born sandwiched between two brothers, one 14 months older and another 23 months younger. We were busy, so it was probably an easy way for my mom to get us to burn all of our energy. I remember springing off the diving board and swimming as fast as I could to hit the pool wall with my hand. During rest periods, when the lifeguards blew their whistles, I would quickly walk to the snack bar, the smell of sunscreen lingering in the air and my bare feet sizzling on the hot concrete.
Years later, summer has a different rhythm, but it still revolves around children, long days, and making memories. This summer in particular, we have lacked normal rhythms. Every morning, I do wake up, read my Bible with a hot cup of coffee, and wait for sleepy eyes to join me in the living room. After people start stirring, I will take our doodle on a 2-mile walk along our neighborhood’s asphalt path and come home to ready myself for the day. Kids complete morning chores; however, the rest of the day seems to ebb and flow with individual kids’ needs or appointments. And at some point, during the day every day, one of my three beautiful kids declares, “I am bored.”
Lately, every time I hear those words, I find myself responding impatiently. The constant interruptions and pressure to keep kids entertained at home stir frustration, and it seems to escape my lips as I remind my children that boredom is okay and we don’t default to television to fill the time. We can find creative things to do, or friends to play with outside. It was in the middle of this growing irritability that the Holy Spirit gently convicted me during one of my morning devotionals.
Instead of my usual Bible-in-a-year reading plan, I spent the summer practicing Lectio Divina—an ancient practice of slowly reading, praying through, and dwelling on Scripture one phrase at a time.
Recently, my reading landed me in the love chapter of the Bible. The Corinthians were a people used to love, but they exhibited it in non-God-glorifying ways. Paul describes agape love—the highest, most selfless kind of love. It is patient, sacrificial, and rooted in God's own character. Remarkably, he calls believers to love one another this way.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NLT).
When I paused and reread the scripture three times, the word irritable kept coming to the forefront of my reading. This word in the Greek means to provoke, make angry, to exasperate, to burn with anger. Oh boy, I have definitely been cranky, irritable, and, at times, downright angry with the kids during the summer. I immediately felt the pride of my flesh internally defending itself before the Holy Spirit. Lord, I shouldn't have to entertain these kids... Can't they see I'm trying to schedule appointments and keep our home running?
Paul uses the same Greek word in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.” The same word used to describe my irritation also appears in Paul's warning against provoking our children. That caught my attention. God wasn't simply calling me to avoid anger; He was calling me to lovingly train my children instead.
As parents, or people of God, we can only operate in this manner when we are aware of what the Bible says. Love, gentleness, and self-control are not personality traits I have to manufacture, but they are fruits produced by the Holy Spirit as I am rooted in Christ.
I have been catching the edge in my voice and my thoughts and taking them quickly to the Lord. Rooting my morning in Him and choosing to respond with grace and a redirection toward my children. When the irritation leaks out, as I expect my children to do, I apologize for not treating them the way I would want to be treated.
Summer still has a way of revealing what is in our hearts. Long days expose both the joys and weaknesses. I am thankful that God did not reveal my impatience and irritability. He desires to transform me one moment at a time. “I’m bored” has given me an opportunity to practice the kind of love Paul describes: “selfless, patient and rooted in God’s own character.” And perhaps this may be the most important lesson of my summer.
Reflection:
What has been testing your patience lately? Is there a person or circumstance the Lord is using to reveal an area where He wants to grow your heart? How might you choose patience, gentleness, and love the next time you're tempted to respond in irritation?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for gently revealing the places in my heart that still need Your transforming work. Forgive me for the times I respond with irritation instead of patience and with frustration instead of love. Fill me with Your Spirit so that my words and actions reflect the love You have shown me. Help me to see interruptions as opportunities to extend grace, especially to those You have entrusted to my care. May my home be marked by kindness, gentleness, and self-control, so that my family experiences the love of Christ through me. Teach me to love with patience, just as You have loved me patiently. In Jesus' name, Amen.