Ahh, summer. Early sunrises, late sunsets, kids off school, fireworks, vacations, outdoor concerts, swimming to beat the heat, and mosquitoes—those thorns in our sides that God could have only made for one reason: to remind us that even when life is at its best (like the first day of summer vacation for a twelve-year-old), this world is still a far cry from our heavenly home. (I mean, if the lion will lie down with the lamb (Isaiah 6:11), surely the human will live at peace with the mosquito, right?)
Ah yes, summer.
As wonderful—or challenging—as summer can be, for many people summer is at least one thing: different. In a society built largely around the academic calendar, summer typically differs in some significant ways from fall, winter, and spring.
This prompts a question for missionary disciples of Jesus. How is Jesus calling us to adapt and adjust our rhythms and routines—our rule of life—over summer? In this unique season, how is Jesus inviting each of us to prayer, community, and mission?
Here are a few ways in which prayer, community, and mission look and feel a bit different for me in the summer.
Prayer
I live in Wisconsin, where much of our year is cold and dark (I actually love this for a good chunk of time, but it gets pretty old by March). Then we slog through April, (which somehow feels even colder than January, with all the wind and rain) as we eagerly await the arrival of mid-May, when it’s finally green and nice out again—and the mosquitoes haven’t arrived in full force yet.
For most of the year, I spend some quality time with Jesus in the dark, early morning hours before my kids get up for school, lit only by a candle or my gas fireplace. In Advent and Christmas, the lights of the tree pierce the darkness and remind my senses that Jesus is the light of the world.
But when summer comes, it’s bright and beautiful out by as early as 5:00 AM. Most summer days, then, my quiet times with Jesus take place outside in my backyard where I can hear the sound of birds and breathe in the simple beauty of God’s creation.Summer also affords me the opportunity for slow prayer walks where I stroll down neighborhood sidewalks and pathways through small patches of parks and woods. I relish these walks with God.
When I am outside, either sitting in my backyard or taking a slow stroll with God, somehow everything seems a little fresher, a little clearer for me. I feel both my smallness and God’s bigness (and closeness) in a way that is deeply comforting and often illuminating.
Community
These days, my year-round experience of intentional Christian community comes mostly from a few friendships and my wonderful spiritual director and companion, Fr. Jeff. I love comparing notes with other missionary disciples about what we’re learning about ourselves, God, and the world through Scripture, prayer, and some really good books. Through Fr. Jeff and a few others, I often receive simple words of encouragement, inspiration, and perspective on my life, growth, and mission.
Summer, however, affords me even more of an opportunity to connect with some additional friends in Christ. Not needing to get the kids off to school every morning opens up some flexibility that I often fill with coffee appointments to catch up with friends. Or to get a group of guys together for breakfast—guys who used to be in a small group with me, but who life has since pulled in different directions.
Community with my wife, Jackie, is also extremely important, and summer brings a unique opportunity to deepen our connection. For the last few years, we’ve managed to get all four of our children away at summer camp the exact same week. We take off a day or two from work that week and enjoy a mini “staycation” in our own home and city.
Mission
In Wisconsin, youth baseball is a summer sport. For the last four years, I have coached my youngest son’s baseball team. This wasn’t an easy or automatic decision for me; it’s actually quite a bit outside of my comfort zone. Some dads jump at every chance they get to coach sports, but not me. Part of me would just love to sit back and wait for other parents to step up, like I typically do with the other sports’ seasons. Part of me would love not to worry about the added responsibility and time commitment. But coaching has become a significant personal apostolate for me, not only because of the relationship it opens up with the kids, but especially because it connects me with other families in my neighborhood—mostly dads. It leads to new friendships and occasionally to deeper conversations over a beer after practice. I don’t have any dramatic conversion stories to tell you, but I know that God is working in this simple way to get me out of my fairly Catholic bubble and deeper into the fabric of my local community.
As a couple, Jackie and I also have more opportunities over the summer to build or deepen relationships with other couples and families at the neighborhood pool, at baseball games, at the nature center where she works, or at an occasional evening hangout. As our neighborhood collectively re-emerges from what seems like hibernation over the winter, we host an occasional neighborhood picnic or happy hour.
If you live in the South, your experience of summer is probably quite different from mine. These are just a few examples of how my own life changes in summer, and how I try to approach the changes with prayerful and open-eyed discernment as to where the Lord is inviting me—in the uniqueness of this season—to prayer, community, and mission.
What about you?
Take a few prayer times and examine what your own rule of life might be, just for the summer months.
Check out our Rule of Life planning tool, downloadable for free at evangelicalcatholic.org/ec-life
André Lesperance is a Content Creator and Ministry Consultant at the Evangelical Catholic. The Evangelical Catholic’s mission is to equip Catholics to live out the Great Commission.
