“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

I have long been in sync with seasons and the passage of time.  Beginning with the winter solstice it is as if my inner self leans forward into the year yearning for longer days and the
season of light. And after the summer solstice I sense a vague mourning within as we begin the slide toward the shortest and darkest day of the year.  I also very much live in the ‘now’ enjoying and experiencing each day as a gift.  Even as I enjoy today, the sense of time passing and awareness of seasons is somehow an instinctive underpinning to my days.

Summer has been long in appearing this year. My flowers and trees think it come as they
have budded and bloomed and put on fruit in an almost on-time manner. But only rarely have the sky and temperature reflected the warmth and clarity that, since childhood, I associate with summer.

Today the calendar tells me it is summer. We are in the process of passing another of
those ‘firsts’ without Becky – our first summer without her.  Later this week the Lee clan will gather at a beautiful beachside condo to enjoy Grandmapa Camp.  For the last four years this is an annual event that has included our daughter Kristin, our daughter Joni, and all of our grandkids.  We’ve had the camp in our town and enjoyed exploring every fun nook and cranny of the area.  This year we planned Gmapa Camp to also celebrate Becky’s new status as a Doctor of Pharmacy.  This was to be her first opportunity to enjoy camp with us. We will miss something we never had – Becky’s presence at this fun time.  I’m trusting God that this long awaited adventure – something that we, our kids, and our grandkids look forward to all year – will be a time of great fun, of building lifelong relationships, and of cherishing our memories of Becky.  I know there will be some tears shed and I will cherish those too.  Father God – You know the times and the seasons for our lives. Even as it is beyond us to impact when summer or winter show their faces; so it is beyond us to know when we will see you face to face.  We seek Your face now – help us through this year of firsts without Becky. Give us the ability to mourn her thoroughly, to enjoy her completely, and to turn our faces toward life and all it has to offer us. We give our time of Gmapa Camp into Your hands and ask that You create legacies of love from our time together. We praise You and rejoice that light dwells with You and so does Becky!

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and season; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:20-22