My summer relay

I was a swim team kid. Up early, dive into a not-so-summery cold pool, and swim for your life on Saturday mornings for the prize of a jelly donut at the concession stand. (That last part is not standard for all swimmers.)

I loved the back stroke, but I also swam freestyle relays. In a relay, the race is really won in the transitions. A sloppy transition can cost you the win. We spent a lot of time working on making a smooth turn that didn’t waste energy and handicap the next leg.

This summer is full of sweet opportunities and privileges for me to be with people and serve the Lord, both individually and with my family members. It’s an amazing summer. Of course, you know I’m still digesting our phenomenal Women’s/Girls’ Mission Trip to Asia, but that was just the first leg of this relay. It was followed by a transition week that included a quick trip to see Jacob perform at a Cedarville University Worship Camp and a college visit with Jo, before we packed up and headed out to go camping.

The camping leg of the relay was full of God’s blessing in time with family (our twin 3 yr old nieces and new baby nephew) and friends, all set in cool temperatures by a pristine stream, while our grass died at home and birds built nests in my abandoned ferns. Bliss … for us AND the birds. 🙂

We’ve  been “making a turn”  this week, still trying to catch up from the first “2 laps” and work ahead for the next one. In addition to laundry, a little grocery shopping, catching up on Women’s Ministry work, and watering those abandoned ferns, we hosted 2 unique events that made this “transition week” almost a leg in itself! We had a mother/daughter self defense night in our family room-turned workout room = FUN! And then our mission team re-gathered for a debriefing dinner to download our take away lessons together, and afterward we welcomed friends to see and hear a report about our ministry in Asia = GREAT NIGHT!

This transition week hasn’t been the smoothest turn for me, though, and I think I might be heading into this next leg of our summer relay in less than top form. Maybe it was the above 100 degree temps today, but I had a huge headache that brought back memories of Coach Bryan at the edge of the pool yelling, “Too close to the wall!”

The self defense class Tuesday night reminded me that I shouldn’t go posting all the details of this next “leg” of the summer journey on my blog, 😉 so I will share more when I return, but I can say that I need to go into this leg being full of the Lord, ready to give, and physically strong enough for Him to use me. I appreciate your prayers in general for that. I will be posting “here and there” during this piece of our summer relay.  Monday a guest writer from the Do Not Depart team will share on Marriage Monday.

One of the things that made me swim hard and give 200% as a swimmer (in addition to the hope of that jelly donut) was the cheers of the crowd … yes, I could hear them under the water!  Today when my body said, “Go ahead; sink” I was blessed by cheering from the side of the “pool” …. a call from a sweet friend, a card from Chrissy, a note from awesome LeAnn, a task taken care of by amazing Lisa (Jeff’s most wonderful assistant) and a card and “treat” $ for our anniversary (Oh, no! Need to get a card for Jeff!! That’s Saturday!  # 22 for us!!) from my mom and dad = CHEERS from the crowd on the side of the pool!

Proverbs 25:11
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Proverbs 25:25
Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land.

Life can be “won” in the transitions between big events and great opportunities. It’s so encouraging to hear “words fitly spoken” and “good news” from those around us. I want to be that for others. In this next lap of my summer journey, my task is to do just that for women who serve the Lord in challenging places where the relays are not easy. Pray for me to be an apple of gold and a cup of cold water.  When this lap is done, I’ll sit down with a jelly donut (you get one too!)  and tell you all about it.

I would love to pray for you during my travel time. If I can lift up a request for you during your summer laps, please leave a comment or send me a message. I’ll take you with me in my prayer journal!