What do we do in calm waters? We prepare for the storms. I remember vividly my mother's telling of the fable, "The ant and the grasshopper." This story was always a bit disturbing to me. I saw the wisdom of the dedicated hardworking ants but definitely remember the picture of the likeable, fun grasshopper sunning himself in a lounge chair and the serious, and frankly slightly grumpy, faces of the ants preparing for the hard times. I had to admit, I liked the grasshopper better. That's why the final picture of the starving, freezing, remorseful grasshopper was so depressing. I knew I had a tendency to think like the grasshopper. How many examples are there of preparing for the future? We have Joseph in Egypt, pioneers crossing the plains, and many others. Thank you history.
It sounds like I'm heading in a "food storage", "get out of debt" direction, and that's a good direction, but I'm not. I'm headed in a "strengthen your faith and hope and love to withstand and serve during times of spiritual drought" direction.
It's summer and all is pretty well with the Stokers, give or take a few precarious situations, but nothing is burning or drowning or exploding or starving and so what do I do? I put my feet up and relax. I watch movies at night, read my library books in the day, do a bit of housework, but mostly make myself as comfortable as possible. That isn't necessarily my plan, just the path of rest and relaxation-the path of least resistance, if you will. There is nothing inherently wrong with these behaviors which is why I was so confused when I felt myself drifting into a grumpy, worried, selfish, less healthy state of mind.
What was the deal? I checked my list for beautiful living. I was praying, right? Well, mostly, on the run, "Thanks for everything. Please bless me with what I want." Because I'm not really in trouble, I was not connecting to the One who gave all He had and gave me all I have. In fact, I was kind of acting like I didn't need any help or ideas from anyone else. No wonder I feel like I'm alone. I didn't invite Him to come and stay.
What about studying my scriptures? Are you kidding me? Almost every morning I read at least 5 chapters of the Old Testament in preparation for teaching seminary in the fall. No, I don't remember 1/2 of what I read. I'm just trying to get to the end, but look how many chapters I've checked off!
Well, apparently that's not enough. So outside of my marathon OT reading I took a few minutes to really study a few verses for myself. I read until I learned something, asking, "What is God's message to me? What do I need to improve on? What can I learn from the lives of these people?" This tiny change made a noticeable difference in my heart. Just like He promised.
I looked at some other aspects of beautiful living. I don't think I've been particularly unkind. I haven't really yelled at anyone in my family lately. Granted I only have 2 children at home, both of whom work hard to do good things, so if I'm yelling I just look like a lunatic, which has probably always been the case. But when I had a lot of wild little kids I felt so much more justified. I did notice that since everyone is so easy to care for now, I have gotten a rather indulgent attitude. My default mode is always on the selfish side so a little "think of others" adjustment is definitely in order. My new goals: 1. When family members come home, I will get off the computer or put down my book and greet them with my full attention. 2. I will do some little things for my husband, just because I love him. 4. I will sit around with my family in such a relaxed and cheerful state, that no one knows I have anything I'd rather be doing, because I don't. 5. I will actively look for ways to be of service to others, because when I'm holing up in my home, I can be hard to find.
For me, summertime is a time for reading, not my seminary lessons and educational literature, but whatever I want-novels mostly. I plop down on the couch and enjoy the story. My summer reading lists are long. Sometimes, however, I forget that not all reading is created equal. Just because it's a best seller or rated a 5 on Goodreads doesn't mean a book is good for my soul. Some of the books I've read this summer have been wonderful. I loved "The Robe," and "Gifts from the Sea," I enjoyed "A Girl Named Zippy."But some of my reading quests have been accompanied by an increased sense of hopelessness and dip in my positive outlook stores. As I have identified this, I conclude that if my chosen reading is dragging me through misery, I can either choose to close the book and take it back to the library or make sure I'm also exposing myself to literature that brings light. It can't be all "Anne of Green Gable's " all of the time, unfortunately, and since there is no rating system for books that I know of, I will impose my own rating system and carefully choose stories of inspiration, hope and redemption.
All this because, although we are in the calm waters of summer, the time is for resting and preparing, not becoming weak. We should gather and store the light and nourishment that is in abundance, because winter will come again for a season, It always does. And we will be able to weather through the storms because we became strong when the waters were calm and the sun bright and the harvest plenty.
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