“Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overawes our little anxieties and doubts; the sight of the deep-blue sky and the clustering stars above seems to impart a quiet to the mind.” — Jonathan Edwards
July. The month that means we’ve reached the middle of summer break. The month of heat wave after heat wave. The month where our youth often find themselves meeting new people and experiencing a new community somewhere in our country.
Each summer, we gather a number of students and parents in the Carroll Street parking lot at Grace early in the morning to play the biggest game of Tetris as we try to get everyone’s luggage into the back of our vehicles. We come together for a moment of prayer, parents try to get their goodbyes in as students pile into our vehicles ready and excited to set out on new adventure.
Year after year this is our routine. Year after year July comes, the heat joins us, we gather, we load up, and we set off on our way with the excitement of meeting new people in a new community. Until this year.
If this summer were like every other summer, we would be getting ready to begin our routine on Saturday (July 25). If this summer were like every other summer students would be texting trying to find out who they’re in a car with, parents would be reaching out about snacks needed, congregation members would be sharing tips and tricks with us because they’ve been to the area we’re traveling to…if this were like every other summer we would soon be meeting new people and learning about a new community.
This is not like any other summer.
This summer our routine is different. This summer we find ourselves finding new ways to experience the adventures, challenges, relationships, and faith development we would have experienced on our summer mission trip. This summer we are taking an unexpected break in our routine to discover our own community, to build new relationships right here in our backyard, to experience the adventures our own community has to offer, and to overcome the challenges we are experiencing in the world around us.
The quote from Jonathan Edwards spoke to me this week. These last few months have been filled with much change, disappoint, unrest, and all-around dishevelment. When I came across this quote while looking up passages for this devotion, I was struck by these words “Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overawes our little anxieties and doubts”. Surely, there is something in the unruffled calm of nature.
These moments, where I take a break from everything going on in my life, brings me a sense of normalcy. On these walks I have discovered new parts of our community I never knew existed, engaged in conversations that would otherwise not have had the opportunity to happen, and met new people who I could have seen a hundred times at the store never knowing they would one day no longer be a stranger at the store.
There is in fact something in the unruffled calm of nature and taking the time to stop and notice it has in fact changed the outcome of this summer. Our routine is new and different, and it is beautiful. The calmness of the nature, the excitement of the new and unknown, the comfort of people has in fact eased the anxieties and doubts that 2020 has created.
Stop, take a deep breath in, take a slow and intentional 360-degree turn, observe all that surrounds you, soak in the details, exhale slowly, allow the unruffled calm of nature to ease your anxieties and doubts.