Ok, so a better title for this post might be "Seeking Faith ... in the changing of seasons," because to be honest, the slippage of summer into fall this year is more disheartening than it is joyful for me this year.
This thought dawned on me last night as I was walking our dogs about 9 p.m. ... I had gotten home after our Tuesday night church worship, and it was that late before I was able to get out the door with sneakers on and dogs in tow.
Our route is about 2 miles long and makes a big circular path around our neighborhood. It generally takes us about 45 to 50 minutes to make it through, depending on the number of poop and sniff stops. I'm sure you get the idea.
So about halfway through last night's walk I was on the phone with a family member, and she said, "Kind of dark to be out walking the dogs now, isn't it?" ... The question caught me off guard, and I actually took a look around me at the evening sky and realized that the sun had already set ... a while ago! ... And that realization sunk my heart.
I love my evening walks with the dogs as it is the one time a day where I am truly alone, and afforded the opportunity to mull the day, commune with God and think. But, I love the evening walks in the summer where I can traverse our neighborhood with our beloved rovers in the light the best. It just seems that those lingering summer evenings extend the day. ... Whereas, the earlier setting sun in the autumn seems to extend the night.
Strangely, last night's revelation about the earlier setting sun made me glum. To be honest, I am an autumn kind of guy. It is my favorite season as the nights around the campfire are even better with a crispness in the air. But this year, given the strange and upended summer that we experienced, I'm a little sad to see it go this year.
We put some much time into working in our backyard this summer, building two new patios, a new raised garden bed and staining our backyard fence (hundreds of hours actually), and I've been managing the church through a pandemic, that it seems this summer just whisked by with no time to enjoy it. ... I mean we've only been out in our beloved canoe only once this year!
And so last night, as I gazed around me to see only a sliver of light off to the west and the twinkling stars and rising moon in the east, the full realization that autumn is upon us hit me hard. ... This year, I'm mourning the end of summer like I've never before. ... Sigh.
I know that I will still enjoy this fall and all of the autumnal activities that go with it, especially fires on the new fireplace patio, but there's a small part of me already missing summer, a summer it felt like that we never had.
And so today, I find myself seeking faith ... seeking the faith that autumn will rejuvenate me, and that we will be able to move at a slower pace, a pace at which we can enjoy the things we love so much.
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