Monday Morning Offering - 11

Image: George Mendoza

(The following is with apologies to my friends down under
whose summer is definitely NOT over!)

Good morning, good God!

Summer is so over...

Oh, there are still warm, sunny days
and we don't need jackets or sweaters yet -
and for that I'm truly grateful!

But the whirring, buzzing,
cranking, grinding machinery
of organizations parochial, communal and social
has slipped into gear -
and it's all beginning again, all over, again...

Lord,
I loved the weeks and days
even just the moments
of summer:
simmering on the sand in the sun...
swimming, biking, hiking, sitting still...
packing for a trip, picnicking,
a cold drink, an ice cream cone,
poking around small towns and smaller shops
on back roads on days off...

Simple, unencumbered hours,
here and there,
as beautiful as the stones and shells
the tide washed up,
souvenirs of days gone and missed...

Summer's a sabbath time, Lord...
I loved it and I'm going to miss it.

Help me remember that once a week
you command me
to sabbath rest...

You command the peace of quiet time
and offer the quiet peace
that takes some time to find...

At least once a week, Lord,
slow me down
and give me time for nothing to do...

Help me put the brakes on
my merry-go-round-go-nowhere pace...
Slow me down, stop me,
hold me still
and hold me...

When the roses are gone,
help me stop and smell
fall's burning leaves,
winter's chill-cleaned air,
December's pine-branched greens
and winter's sweet hot chocolate...

Summer's over, Lord,
but any day or any night
brims with sabbath rest
when I seek the peace
that only you can give...

Grateful for the summer past,
I offer you this day, Lord,
and this week, this month, this season
of sign-ups and start-ups,
first classes and full schedules,
too much to do,
too little time to do it...

I offer you my pledge
to find the time to do
nothing...
or nothing more than to rest
in the sabbath peace
that waits to summer
in my soul...

Amen.

Monday Morning Offerings I - X

-ConcordPastor