Being With God in Summertime

As I write this, I note with some fascination and slight dread that this period of summer is very nearly halfway done. How quickly these warm days have effortlessly slipped into one another, almost unnoticed! We usher our children out the door, into the backyard and the heat of the day to run and play, ride their bikes and let their imagination grow as quickly as the weeds in our garden. (I, unfortunately, do not have a green thumb, and our garden suffers for my lack of it.)

We, as a family, have recently begun to enjoy leisurely walks around our neighbourhood. I do not even bother to keep up with the teenagers, who are always trying to get in as many steps as they can. Their devices keep track of how many they have made during the day. My own 3,000 or so steps make me somewhat happy – until my long-legged son proudly announces he has over 16,000 steps. My paltry achievement is overshadowed by his over-achievement, but we all enjoy our walks together. What makes summertime so precious is this time to be with the family in a different, more relaxed way. Then again, if we are talking “family”, where in all of this, though, does our Father God fit? Is there any room for God when one is resting and relaxing?

Downtime – Not a Time Out

For many of us, summer is a time for rest and enjoyment, leisure, and easing up on the rushed pace of work and everyday life. Downtime, however, does not mean packing up God into a storage bin, as we would winter coats and boots, tucked away in the basement. Our lives are not compartmentalized, with segments of how we are when in church, when at work, when with friends, and when at home. There is one life we each have – this life is God-given. Put more succinctly – it is our Father God Who has given each of us our lives. Why would we shut Him out – our own Father?

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-2, RSVCE)

God Who?

It is very interesting what St. John has written: “The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” For those of us who call God “Father”, it is no real surprise that many of what we believe in and do is weird, strange or unfathomable to others who do not have faith: the sacraments, Holy Mass on Sundays or any other day, our devotion to Mary, prayer in general and hope in the face of tribulation and sorrow.

We do have to ask ourselves, though, if we ourselves are making every effort to be and stay connected to God, regardless of what season it may be. I cannot imagine “taking a break” from my parents. I may not call them everyday and live halfway around the world from them, but they are very much alive in my heart and mind and present in my life. In order to do that, I have to make sure I keep in touch with them, by phone, email or text message. We have video calls when possible and look forward to time we can be together in person.

Staying Connected

The same (and more!) must be true for we, who are God’s children. There is no time – not one moment – in our lives when we should be apart from God: summer, winter, spring and fall; morning, noon and night; in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, till death do we come before Him. If we are ever feeling untethered, slightly off-kilter, perhaps unsure, uneasy or just out of it, perhaps it is because we are not connected to our God. To paraphrase St. John’s words – “The reason we do not know is that we do not know him.”

Any time and all the time are good “times” to be with our Father. Summertime presents a wonderful opportunity for precisely this. God is not a hindrance or bother during this season marked by opportunities for rest and relaxation. Rather, it is a chance to know Him better, deepen our faith, and rest in the warmth of His Love. How, you might ask? Here are some summertime ideas for connecting with He Who loved us from before we were even born.

Family First

In “Familiaris Consortio”, Saint Pope John Paul II wrote:

“The future of humanity passes by way of the family.

It is therefore indispensable and urgent that every person of good will should endeavor to save and foster the values and requirements of the family.”

The currency of love in any relationship and, especially the family, is time – time spent with those whom we love the most and who hold a special place in our hearts. As much fun as it might seem to go to back-to-back activities and camps and be entertained right, left, and centre, the laidback and slower time of summer is made for moments spent in quiet, in laughter, and in contemplation with the family.

The time we have to rest and relax allows us to remove ourselves from the concerns of work and everyday life – to notice, appreciate and consider who and what is around us. Take a walk with someone you love. Play a board game or ride bikes together around your neighbourhood. Hang out on a picnic blanket in the shade of a tree and just chill with someone you have not spent too much time with. Make time and take the time to be with your family. Talk. Listen. Give thanks to God for the gift of someone to love. It is never a waste of time.

Make a Friend, Keep a Friend

Summer is made for visiting with friends, new and old. What a joy to be able to spend time with friends, sharing a meal, stories, and laughter! We are richer for the deep friendships we have and the new ones we make along the way. In order to do this, we do have to make time for these opportunities. The best use of our time is always for love.

Our Lord Himself made time for friends and to meet others whose lives were changed for having met Him: Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary of Bethany, the couple whose wedding He and His mother attended and celebrated within Cana, the Samaritan woman drawing water from the well to name a few. Being with friends allows us to get a better understanding of what God our Father asks of us: to love others as we love ourselves. We can see the face of God in those whom we love and care for. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10, RSVCE)

Creator of All Things Visible and Invisible

If time to rest and relax provides us with moments for contemplation, it is important for us to take in the beauty of the world around us. After all:

Worthy art thou, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for thou didst create all things,
and by thy will they existed and were created (Rev 4:11).

We need these opportunities much more than we might realize, as then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote in “Meditations at Vacation Time” (from the book “Seek that which is Above”), of which passages are quoted and appear in the July 2022 newsletter of Saint Mary Parish in Ridgefield, CT:

All this is illustrated by our use of leisure time….It is necessary for us, who live constantly in an artificial world of man-made things, to leave it behind and seek to encounter creation in its natural state.

I would like to mention a small but significant thing of which [St. John Paul II, then Karol Wojtyla] spoke in his retreat before Paul VI. There he tells of his conversations with a scientist, “a first-class research scientist and a fine man”, who told him: “Scientifically, I am an atheist…” yet…” Whenever I am confronted with the majesty of nature…, I feel that he exists.”

God does not come to light in the artificial world of man-made things. So it is all the more necessary for us to leave our workaday world behind and go in search of the breath of creation, in order that we may meet him and thus find ourselves.

Time to Talk

Most importantly, we need to make time to keep on talking to our Lord – prayer never goes out of style or season. It knows no boundaries or limitations. Jesus Himself teaches us to pray, not as miserly and pathetic, inferior specks of humanity – which we probably deserve to be classified as such in any case – but as children of God:

“Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil (Mt. 6:9-13).

I invite you to make God a part of your rest and relaxation this summer, in gratitude for the gift of time we have been so generously given by our loving Father. In this way, even our moments of leisure and enjoyment become precious times of prayer.