Pause for Prayer: SUNDAY 6/21

 

It was 19 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 but it remains (and continues to become) one of my favorites...  I offer it again this morning on the first day of summer 2026...

 

I remember childhood summers 

    that seemed without horizon:

a time and place as close to heaven 

    as any young heart might hope to dream...

 

A child’s summer, filled with joy,

    comes as gift from God;
a wondrous, timeless season

    of unending sun and fun

       - perpetual play! 

And who but you, O Lord, 

    might offer such a gift?

 

But where have childhood summers gone? 

Have I lost my hope 

    in summer's peace and 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 every other season's 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 ever fade or end, 

    as if all time were 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, O Lord, 
    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,
    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, O Lord, 
    and find a place of peace

as when you took your own rest,
    leaving the crowds behind
and climbing to a mountain top, 

    or walking in the desert,
or sailing 'cross the waters 

    to find a quiet shore 

where you could find some time for rest

    in quiet groves

and in the blessed silence  

    find a place to pray... 

 

Come, summer with me, Lord,
    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

settle to a pace that 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's crowded, Lord,

    with work and things to do;
if vacation time is really short 

    or simply not in sight;
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…   

 

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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