It was 15 years ago that I first wrote the phrase, "Come summer with me, Lord..." I've tweaked this text a number of times over the years (as I have tonight) but it remains (or continues to become) one of my favorites... I offer it again tonight as the sun goes down on the first day of summer 2024...
I remember childhood
summers that seemed without horizon:
a time and place as close to
heaven
as my young
heart might hope to dream...
A child’s summer joy comes as gift from God:
a taste of timelessness, perpetual play,
a season of unending sun and fun
and who but you might offer such a gift, Lord?
But where have those childhood summers gone?
Have I lost my hope in summer's promise?
If I don't believe in
summer
how can I hope for heaven
where summer's joy
must surely never end...
Heaven:
where summer's sweet and timeless peace
heals all the other
seasons' grief...
Come, summer with me, Lord,
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
Restore
my faith in summer’s time,
in
rest, in joy, in play, in you...
Come,
summer in my heart, Lord,
and
dwell there
as
if summertime would never end,
as
if all time were a child's time, eternal time,
when school is always out
and
joy is ever in...
Come, summer with me, Lord,
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
In
these long-awaited days, Lord,
slow me down and give me time
slow me down and give me time
to be alone with you,
extra
time to seek and find you
always by my side...
Let
any summer doldrums calm
and call me to
a place of prayer,
of
meeting you again:
like bumping into you, Lord,
on the streets of my vacation...
like bumping into you, Lord,
on the streets of my vacation...
Come, summer with me, Lord,
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
Help
me relax, Lord,
and find a place of peace
and find a place of peace
as when you
took your own rest,
leaving crowds behind,
climbing to a mountain top,
leaving crowds behind,
climbing to a mountain top,
sojourning in the desert,
or sailing 'cross the waters to find a quiet shore
or sailing 'cross the waters to find a quiet shore
where you could take your rest in quiet groves
and in the blessed silence
find a place to pray...
Come, summer with me, Lord,
come, summer with me
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
Slow
me down, Lord!
Let the busyness that rules me
and the work that owns my time
and the work that owns my time
settle
to a pace that lets me be,
lets me be alone with you,
in a place where my heart speaks to yours
and your heart speaks to mine
lets me be alone with you,
in a place where my heart speaks to yours
and your heart speaks to mine
where
in the silence, I can hear
the whisper of your
word...
Come, summer with me, Lord,
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
And if my summer time's too crowded
with work and things to do;
if vacation time is really short
if vacation time is really short
or simply not
in sight;
if my problems bear down hard
if my problems bear down hard
like the season's
noonday sun
- even then, especially
then -
come summer with me,
Lord,
come summer deep down in my
soul...
When the sun comes up at morning,
when the stars shine bright all night,
when the temperature is rising
and when soft rains fall upon me:
Come, summer with me, Lord,
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
come, summer with me
deep down in my soul…
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Send Us Your Spirit by Dan Schutte
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Send us your spirit, O Lord.
Evening enfolds us and holds us too near.
Wake the morning light. Make our living bright.
Shine on our darkness, O Lord
Teach us your wisdom, O Lord.
Shadows have clouded, have crowded our sight.
Give us hearts that see. Set our loving free.
Hear us and help us, O Lord.
Send us good summer, O Lord.
Winters have chilled us and stilled us too long.
Give us love's own fire. Be our true desire.
Send us your spirit, O Lord.
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