Have you ever noticed how beautiful
life is in the afterglow?
A summer evening when the day is spent,
evening so soft, sunset fades in a quilt of colors.
New fallen snow, piling up in the moonlight,
when most of the world has gone to sleep.
The slip and slide of days gone by,
all piled up in memories, pages of wonder.
It is extraordinary, the passage of time in steady beats,
the moments that flicker and then are gone.
The music is enchanting; we listen, as to a violin that plays
within our souls.
We hear the music and find our way;
from sunrise to sunset, the notes always carry us home.
Summer Days
These summer days have been full! We attended a beautiful June wedding for my niece in Virginia Beach, and we spent the weekend at the waterfront. My niece had a picture-perfect day for her wedding and fair skies reigned. This was a blessing because we have had a great deal of rain these past few weeks.
I always love to look down the beach and see all the beach umbrellas lined up. The array of colorful umbrellas set against the white sand is a sure sign of summer!
The boardwalk in Virginia Beach is full of activity. You can watch people ride by on four-seater tandem bicycles. These pedal cars are very popular! The beachgoers pull carts and wagons full of beach supplies for the day…beach chairs, coolers, kid’s toys, and beach blankets and towels. From early in the morning to late in the evening, the oceanfront is a very busy place!
Our gardens are coming along. The tomatoes are on the vine, still green, but getting bigger day by day. With all the rain, we have a great deal of yard work to do. After these heavy rains, lots of tree branches came down, and another tree fell in our back woods.
The Fourth of July is almost here! (I am still finding eggs from our egg hunt at Easter.) The holidays come and go, but at our house, the seasons merge a bit…I find stray things here and there that should not be! (I wonder if this happens to anyone else…)
I hope that everyone is having a good summer! It is a great season to just let some things ‘be’. There will always be endless lists of things to do. It is nice sometimes to wander the beach and the garden and notice only the beautiful summer things…a rose in bloom, and not the weeds, a seagull soaring high, and not the fly that might be pestering you as you eat your picnic lunch. It takes practice to cultivate this way of ‘seeing’ the world, but it brings a lot of joy. (It is a daily practice to be sure, and one we all need to work at!) And yes, we still have to weed our gardens from time to time…Still, taking little breaks and just taking in all the ‘good stuff’ is such a wonderful thing.
Life is a dizzy-dance at times, (lots of the time), a little of this, and a little of that. Still, the summer wind plays on like a beautiful love song. God has gifted us with this music, this sense of wonder, this sense that we are where we should be at this very moment in time. We must open the windows of our hearts and minds in order to hear this music…there are so many other things that can drown it out. Like a fine-tuned instrument softly playing in our midst, the music is there…we must listen, take time to hear the soft cadence, the bliss to be found in God’s outdoor cathedral…the natural world around us.
God longs to stir our hearts with this summer wind…to remember that He is present with us at all times. He longs for us to make our own music, to live in His presence, with wonder and awe.
Wishing everyone a very happy Fourth of July!
Jeremiah 17:7: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.”
Psalm 91:1: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
I enjoyed your reference to the sunset fading in a quilt of colors. It reminded me of the way old cotton fabrics soften in color so beautifully as they age and are loved.
You are so right! The fabric grows more beautiful over time…so many things do! 🙂
Your poetry resonated this morning, Linda, as did your thoughts on how to spend a summer day. In our eagerness to experience every moment, we sometimes forget just to stop and enjoy that moment. Does that make sense? I recall reading an article about filling up every day with more and more experiences. To me, that does not necessary mean that you have enjoyed every experience because you are always running off to experience something more. Here’s a quote that I keep close by as a reminder:
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” John Lubbock, The Use Of Life
Thank you for this wonderful comment! I so love the quote by John Lubbock. He understands what life is all about. No where in the Bible does it say that people are to fill up all of their time with the aim of ‘being busy’. How ridiculous is that? Time is meaningful, purposeful; it matters how we spend our time. Jesus withdrew from the crowds in order to have time for rest. We ‘rest’ in God and in His promises. Psalm 46:10:”Be still, and know that I am God.”
such a delightful poem and those lovely summer pics … glad you enjoyed the wedding! Noting the ‘good’ rather than the bothersome is a real gift 🙂
Thank you, Kate! You are right…it is a gift, and it can be a calling. If we fill our hearts with the ‘good stuff’, it crowds out the space for the ‘sad stuff’. The sad stuff is always there, but if we keep looking each and every day for the wonder, for the magic in the ordinary, we are transported. Our souls seek the beauty of life and that is what God intended for His children because He loves us so very much. I love that book, ‘The Secret Garden’. It opens our eyes to the beauty that is there if our eyes are searching for it. In the end, it is what we see, and how we see, that matters most of all. It is not about the weeds and the neglected garden; it is about the flowers that will bloom if we tend to them. (We must tend to the flowers within our very souls.) With God’s help, they bloom very nicely! 🙂
you really have a wondrous way with words Linda, well said!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Your poem is exquisite! I felt myself transported to moments of being that are precious to me. Thank you!
Thank you Liz! It is good to reflect on all these moments…we are so blessed! It is as if we get to live those moments again with our memories. That is why I love to keep a journal. I can go back and read things from many years ago. My mother kept some of the poems I wrote in my early childhood, and I have some poems and journal posts from my junior high and high school days!
You’re welcome, Linda! I don’t have much of my juvenalia left, which is probably just as well . . . I’ve captured the moments and people who meant the most to me in poetry.
You have done a wonderful job of ‘capturing’ these moments and people in your poetry, and it is a beautiful thing!
Thank you!
The one thing which can surely still and calm my heart is always the sea. That picture of the sea, with sunlight rendering its waters shimmering like diamonds is absolutely gorgeous. I have no sea close by today but I have high and playful winds that dart about our trees and reach out to tickle our windchimes. Certainly a day to be happy and to find rest in its hours.
That playful wind reminds us that we must take time to put our worries aside. Children see a mud puddle and know what to do! 🙂 We are reminded often in the Bible to give our fears to God, and to live one day at a time. It is enough one day at a time…moments for work and play, rest and accomplishing our tasks. I love the wind chimes! 🙂
To trust God is a tough thing indeed – and I always thought I was a pretty trusting person! I like your response about the winds. I consider them messengers but it never occurred to me that they could be calling out to me to come and play! What a lovely thing!
The wind is a lovely thing…it shifts and changes; it is always altogether new. The wind is also mysterious, as is life in many ways. I do often think of the wind as playful… We grow older, but our hearts are still young. In that way, people are ageless, if they remember that play can be altogether good for us. With faith, we ‘rest’ in God, knowing that He is our Heavenly Father. We must work and play because both things are needed; without rest and play, we grow weary and tired. In that way, we cannot be the ‘best selves’ that God has ordained for us to be.
Linda, I greatly appreciate your words it “takes practice to cultivate this way of ‘seeing’ the world, but it brings a lot of joy.” Today is day three of smoke haze, which doesn’t bother me except I need to curb my outdoor time and making me think that I need to keep cleaning my glasses LOL. This morning I found myself marveling at how beautiful the sunrise looked muted by the haze. The rays played through it in a delightful way. I love your closing words which are almost like a benediction, “God longs to stir our hearts with this summer wind…to remember that He is present with us at all times.”
We have had the smoke haze as well…I keep hoping and praying for an end to these fires in Canada. Yes, God is endlessly calling to us, in the summer wind, and in so many ways. God touches our lives from moment to moment; He is always there.
Such a glorious poem, LInda! Each beautifully-written line conjured up a lovely image and/or memory. / As for finding remnants of holidays passed: I actually leave remnants of Christmas here and there-all year: an angel in the living room, a faux pine garland with fairy lights on the china cabinet, a creche in my office and another in the guest room. They bring me joy–why not enjoy them all year?!
Thank you, Nancy! 🙂 I will admit that I leave a little bit of Christmas throughout the house as well!!! We must be kindred spirits! 🙂
How about that?!
🙂 🙂 🙂
I loved your poem! The afterglow is so beautiful. It sounds to me as if your Summer is going very well indeed…what can be nicer than time spent by the beach? Happy Fourth of July to you and yours!!
Thank you! 🙂 Happy Fourth of July to you too! The sunshine is back and that is a very happy thing!
You’ve captured the serenity of summer which is ours when we take these moments offered to us. God’s steadfast blessings are such faith builders! Thank you for sharing with us your own. 🙂
You are so right! God’s blessings surround us continuously; He is endlessly pouring out His love for us in a multiplicity of ways. He delights in bringing us joy! As it is often said, ‘joy is like sunshine’; it scatters, here, there, and everywhere. It can surprise us and catch us unaware! 🙂
Nicely put, Linda. True “reflections” from you. In this way we can truly connect in the seasons of nature and ourselves. Happy 4th! – Alan
Thank you!!! Happy 4th of July! 🙂 We had fair skies today and that was a blessing!
What a beautiful and uplifting post Linda. I hope that your summer is as nice as you make it sound.
We have had some very hot days, but that is the summertime! 🙂 I hope you are having a good summer also. Summer days slip into autumn and before we know it, the holidays are right around the corner!
Yes, the time goes by so fast that we need to make sure that we enjoy some of it. And I am not ready for the Holidays yet.
I am not ready for the holidays either! 🙂 I have watched a couple of Hallmark’s ‘Christmas in July’ movies, but that does not count!
A beautiful reminder to slow down and appreciate nature and our lives.
The only time I’ve been in Virginia Beach was for a wedding, too–though we didn’t really have time to enjoy the beach, but we could hear the ocean while we slept. I’m glad your niece and her now spouse had a picture perfect day.
We’re into the hot, humid, thunderstorm days here now.
It is wonderful to hear the ocean as you go to sleep! We have the same weather as you…hot and humid! One of my granddaughters was over at my house yesterday. She picked our first cucumber and we ate it together. She also picked some pears and ate those too! She was looking for more things to eat in the garden…I told her that we will have to wait! 🙂 Nothing else is ready!
That so wonderful that your granddaughter is so curious about the garden and enjoys the vegetables!
Yes! It is fun to see the little ones in the garden…everything is a grand adventure! 🙂
🙂
Congrats on your niece’s wedding, Linda. It sounds like you had a wonderful time enjoying the sights. Summer is indeed here and there’s so much to enjoy in each moment, including the garden’s bounty. Have a wonderful week.
Thank you! I hope your week is going well also! 🙂 Summer is a very special season…
And yet, believe it or not, the 4th is already gone, and the middle of July upon us. I needed your post today. I’ve been bemoaning the wet and HOT summer we’re having, but your poem stilled my heart. The afterglow of life is here within our hearts. You helped my heart feel it all.
I am so glad! Yes, as you have said so well, “The afterglow of life is here within our hearts.” Each day is a new gift from God set before us, full of possibilities. When we look at life through that lens, the seemingly ‘ordinary’ becomes extraordinary. I believe that God longs for us to see the world through this perspective. Why else would He have created the universe full of so much mystery and beauty? There is the element of mystery, and so we must keep our eyes, hearts, and minds open. We don’t want to miss the miracles hidden in our midst…they are there, waiting to be discovered. Seeing with our hearts is an art that takes patience and cultivation; it takes all that we have to give, day in and day out, for the whole of our lives. (With God’s help, it is an art that is possible…)
Beautifully beautifully said. 💝
🙂 🙂 🙂
Linda, your poem is so beautiful. You have made me stop, think, and give thanks for the lovely ways we have to view the world.
Thank you! We are so blessed! 🙂