Somewhere over the Rainbow

We have a tradition, spending Labor Day Weekend at our family cabin. For me, a lover of summer, it's a weekend of closure. 

Labor Day marks the end of summer and I always say that I adore summer. I really do but to be honest, summers are often very hard for me, and this summer was no exception. On one hand, I love the break from the school schedule, from the cold of Minnesota winter, love taking my boys swimming, and I LOVE going to the cabin but summer is also a time when I so clearly see the brokenness around me. Living in a higher crime, low income city neighborhood is challenging in the summer. During the school year, the needs are masked in the busyness of school and sports. From November until April it is rare to see much at all since the cooler temperatures and snow keep most indoors. But summers are different.

This summer has been one of the most difficult. We faced the wrath of more than one angry neighbor which resulted in a lost friendship, felt the piercing sting of racism, and struggled to explain to my boys why a 10 year old repeatedly stood on our porch threatening to take his own life. Brokenness, pain, and this particular summer, isolation, left me thankful that Labor Day had come. 

As I sit here enjoying a quiet moment at the local resort, which sits on the same lake as our cabin, I am reflecting on what this summer has taught me.

Innocent children suffer from the consequences of sin in the lives of those around them.

Friends come and go but family will always be there.

I have the most amazing husband who is truly a gift from God to me.

There is a season for everything under the sun. 

Schedules and structure are good.

God is always at work and our battle is not against flesh and blood. 

A nice distraction this summer has been finding water damage in our kitchen. I know that may sound strange but we've been able to focus inward, for good reason, and spend an incredible amount of time working as a family to redo our kitchen. We've also decided to put our house on the market this fall. I have very mixed emotions about the idea of moving. Quite frankly, I don't like change, and we need to make a decision about high school this next year. I've had moments of stress but ultimately I am clinging to Proverbs 3:5-6,

Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. 

If God wants us to move, our house will sell at the right price, and we will find a house that we can afford in the place He wants us to go. If He doesn't want us to move, we will have a beautiful new kitchen, and our house will be thoroughly de-cluttered, freshly painted and crazy clean :-) This next month my paint brush, and Norwex cloths will be my best friends! Whatever the outcome, I have peace. 

If I am honest, the idea of being in a whole new place next summer is appealing. I long to live where I feel comfortable taking walks, where my boys will ride their bikes, where I don't have to hear other people's music but this journey isn't about what's comfortable but about God's plan & I trust Him to direct.

It's been a beautiful day here at the cabin. Rain came late this afternoon. I grilled a steak over the fire holding an umbrella :-) As I snuck away for some alone time I saw the most beautiful rainbow. It was a reminder to me that beauty can come out of the storm. It was a reminder I needed.