Summer Breeze

Summer is over and once again we begin to prepare both our bodies and emotions for the changes in weather. But I cannot help but want to hold on to the summer warmth and the cool breezes of the North Shore. This may be part of my problem. I love to feel the wind in my face, blowing through my hair. (Obviously this is an ancient memory.) Ever since I was a young boy, I have enjoyed this. First, it was while riding in a car with my three sisters. My parents always rode in the front seat and the four of us kids crammed ourselves in the second-row seating. We fought over who got to sit next to the door so that we could roll down the window and allow the wind to blow cool air in our faces. (I love my sisters BUT… sitting next to sweaty bodies was not my idea of a good time.)

The other memories are riding my horse and galloping down a country road. There “aint” nothing like riding a horse as fast as you can go! Then came the motorcycle and that was pretty awesome. Which brings me to getting my driver’s license and the open window scenario again. The only problem was the air conditioner running means closing the windows. So no opportunity to have the window down or blowing air through your hair, (again, when I had hair). 

Imagine my surprise the other day, I was just going to visit a person who had been in the hospital and the temperature outside was perfect. I opened the window and literally stuck my head out the window. It was heavenly! I could smell grass and trees. I heard the sounds of birds and an airplane also. It was an incredible sense of “déjà vu.” I think most days I prefer to keep the noise of the outside world…outside. What was pulling at my heart was something deeper and more primal. It was thinking of my father, now 96 years of age, stuck in a hospital room and not able to get outside and enjoy the sounds of nature or feel the warmth of the sun or feel the wind blowing in his face. 

My father is a South Dakota boy, born on the open fields of South Dakota prairie lands. A person who rode in cars with no AC and whose arms were sunburned from hanging them outside the window. Confined to a single-sized bed without my mother lying by his side, the disorientation is difficult to even imagine. 

The last time I visited him I sat on the bed next to him and all I could do was tell stories. He remembers the stories but only once I begin to recall them. We laughed and refused to cry but the nostalgia of memories shared was intoxicating. Funny how something as simple as rolling down one’s window can trigger such intense emotions. Summer breezes have been a respite from the mundane which is why we will miss them terribly. As I write this article all I can say is, thankfully, I love fall leaves also, and if I get a chance to visit my father again I will use the blowing leaves of fall to regale him with more good times when God has crowned our lives with the beauty of his creation for us to live in and enjoy.

May summer breezes and fall leaves adorn your days!

Blessings, Pastor Jeff