When that last bell rings in the halls of your child’s school, or the final assignment is submitted for the year, it often feels like normal life gets put on pause. Summer vacations, church camps, ball tournaments, trips to nearby cities, changing work schedules, and church activities quickly fill the calendar. Before long, the routine you’ve worked so hard to build is gone.
And if we’re not careful, our walk with the Lord can be one of the first things that gets pushed aside.
The quiet time you normally have in the morning gets replaced by leaving before sunrise for a tournament or getting out to work on the farm. Your regular prayer time gets traded for hours in the car driving from one destination to the next. Then, by the end of summer, you wonder why you feel spiritually exhausted. You feel dry. You feel distant from God.
Why? Because for the last eight weeks, the main thing hasn’t been the main thing. If you’re reading this and thinking, “Does Graham have a camera watching my life?” I promise I don’t. I just know what it’s like because I’ve been there too.
I’ve experienced seasons where walking closely with the Lord brought incredible peace and joy. I’ve also experienced the emptiness that comes when I neglect time with Him. Summer has a way of convincing us that we’ll get back into a routine later, but “later” often turns into weeks or even months.
Here’s the good news: God isn’t only interested in hearing from you during emergencies, major life decisions, or difficult seasons. Throughout Scripture, God invites us into a relationship with Him. In fact, while God is called “Father” only a handful of times in the Old Testament, He is referred to as Father over 200 times in the New Testament. That’s not an accident. He wants a relationship with His children.
Think about how a young child talks to their mom or dad. They don’t just come when something is wrong. They’ll excitedly tell him about the game they played, the ice cream they ate, or that they’re wearing their favorite Mickey Mouse shirt or dress. They simply want Dad to know what’s happening in their world.
Our Heavenly Father delights in that kind of relationship too.
Tell Him what you’re excited about. Tell Him about your vacation. Talk to Him while you’re driving to the ball field. Thank Him for the beautiful sunset on the way home. Ask Him for wisdom before work. Invite Him into the ordinary moments of your day.
Yes, set aside intentional time to read His Word, pray, and spend time with Him. Those habits matter. But don’t think your relationship with God is limited to a quiet chair in the morning with a cup of coffee. He goes with you wherever you go.So if your schedule has been turned upside down this summer, don’t leave God behind while you try to keep up with everything else.
Take Him with you.
The craziness of summer doesn’t have to pull you away from the Lord. It can become another season where you walk closely with your Father, one conversation at a time.
Have a great weekend and we will see you Sunday,
Graham