In many different parts of the country summer is already waning for some school aged children and their parents. They are already sensing the end of the freedom that these months have given them, but I am still in the throngs of summer. We have spent much time away from home in hotels, with family, and in many different cities. It has required a certain amount of flexibility and necessary planning. The planning has not really been difficult because we are planners, but still we have had to make obvious adjustments.
Last night at an outdoor cafe with my older sister and her husband we enjoyed the cool temperatures that are so common with upstate New York. It easily brought back memories from having grown up in this area and how the rhythm of summer really does take on a life of its own. Even as the evening progressed there were still people out and about, riding bikes, talking, and just seemingly not wanting to see the day end. This included us as well!
What I realized is the importance of time spent with family and the people that we love. A simple walk was enough to capture the essence of what it means to be in this kind of relationship, and laughter at breakfast with a younger sister that found us lingering over coffee for much longer than those waiting for our table would have liked cannot be measured.
All of these times are being added to my memory bank and I will cherish them for days to come. There is also the time I have spent at the hospital bedside of my oldest sister that will not be forgotten. Although I wish we were visiting elsewhere, and however difficult it has been to see her suffering through these days, they are important to me. There were moments when I just sat in silence as my sister drifted off to sleep, and once again it was this simple act that I will remember.
My sister is in a private room with a view of trees and sky. The other day when I remarked on this she listened, but did not respond, and when I pressed a little further and asked her if she looked out this window she shook her head no. What I realized is that we all have our own ways of getting into the rhythm of life wherever we find ourselves. My sister has become content with watching a clock on the wall that is directly in front of her. She has decided that this is how she will mark her time, and mark it quite literally.
As for me, I found that my joy was in being with my sisters and that my peace was simply being, and doing whatever brought us closer in those not to be forgotten moments, moments that are just the rhythm of life marching on.
Matthew 6:25-26 CSB Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?