The Bookends of Summer and Places in the Middle

Bookends are something used in bookcases to keep books standing up straight on both sides. That’s kind of what I did with summer days this year, having taken bookend beach trips—a trip at the beginning of my summer days and a bookend journey at the very end. Joy was found in both places as well as places in between that were without an ocean view!

The Jersey Shore Bookend

Our early summer trip was to the New Jersey shore where my husband and I have vacationed together for the past 38 years. The walk to the beach is long, but when I reach the edge of the ocean I feel like I have left the cares of the world behind me. It is very private, and many memories of my heart are there for me when I return.

The In Between Spaces

This summer we started a new tradition of having our coffee out on the patio every morning, watching the birds who made their way to our feeders, made a nest in our birdhouse, and who sat on our dog cage fence. We found this to be a nice start to our day as the warmth of summer was delightfully felt sitting on the swing together. Times like this are good for the soul and ones I savor in my memory of this season. It already is a bit too chilly on most mornings to continue this routine, and the last week of September finds us moving back inside in the early mornings until spring.

We grew our garden this summer next to our house, with tomatoes, cucumbers and yellow squash finding their way to overflowing their designated spaces. Our cucumbers had a perfect place to climb on the burning bush in front of our house. I have seven more cucumbers to eat out of the abundance we were blessed with.

In the in between spaces, our summer was filled with many connections. We celebrated Father’s day, had an extended family picnic at our house, went on a cruise on Cayuga lake, had a couple picnics by Canandaigua Lake and Cayuga Lake, grew an abundance of colorful flowers, watched my husband refurbish an old dresser from the farm, continued to facilitate small groups, looked at old pictures, had breakfast and dinner out with numerous friends, had more picnics with friends and family, read some new books, worked on some writing projects, and spent time with my siblings that came to New York for their vacation. I still worked full time, and my husband worked hard at enjoying his retirement by mowing our two acres, taking care of our dog (Cookie), doing all the shopping for us, cooking me a delicious breakfast mornings before I went to work, and taking care of everything that needed to be cared for around our home.

End of season reflections

One of my goals at the beginning of summer was to start writing on my blog again. I didn’t meet my goal, but I am finding my way here shortly after the calendar says summer is gone and the next season is upon us. It was a beautiful day yesterday to sit by the water and plan my next journaling class for October, “Journaling In The Quiet Place”.

I sat in the middle of inspiration and wrote all afternoon and even took a nap by Tioga-Hammond Lake in Pennsylvania while listening to its gentle waters.

In the Journey

Life has difficult moments to maneuver through, and this summer has been no exception to that, however, I am more than grateful for how God never leaves me or forsakes me in the middle of those times. I try to focus on the blessings I have and ask God to give me strength as I give my concerns and aches of my heart to Him. My One Word for 2023 is Renew, which has been marinating inside me this year. There are times when I think about that which has been or is being renewed in me. When I sit here writing and looking back, I see where renewal is evident in the “scraps” of my days and life more clearly, as reflecting that of a quilt my mom made this summer using only the “scraps” of material she had collected over the years.

The following song made a great impact on me, and I wrote about it earlier this year…

The song, “Masterpiece”, sung by Danny Gokey, touched deep in the fabric of my life; deeper than I thought it ever would. I have listened to it many times as my heart cries, playing the song over and over again in my mind. In looking back at the times in my life when I was “stuck hurting”, even in this season, Your voice, Lord, says to me that I am a masterpiece. I ask myself why I don’t always see myself as one. As I look back, I see where You were shaping the soul of me and moving where I could not see at the time. You wrapped my soul in scraps over the many years—pieces of love from my mom’s deep love, scraps of memories from the farm life that grew in me as I grew up, scraps of words written down as songs to touch my life when You knew I needed it, and “scraps of words” I memorized from the Bible as a child. In addition to those scraps, there were scraps of motherhood that still wrap their way through my heart, beautiful scraps in my marriage that make me feel loved at the beginning and ending of my days, and scraps of a few petals pressed between pages that remind me of my mother-in-law and the son of hers that I love so dear. There are many more scraps I hold in my heart—too numerous to write on this page.

I know You will continue to bring renewal to my life this year.

You sew the scraps together around me to make a masterpiece of color, creativity, and the calling You have for my life. For that I am grateful.

You say I am a masterpiece.

Written by Noreen Sevret

The End of Summer Bookend

As we ventured south, after a weekend visit to spend with my sister in South Carolina, we found ourselves sitting on a picturesque beach on Anastasia Island, Florida, a few miles from where my brother-in-law and sister-in-law live. We spent 10 days going back and forth to the beaches there and spending time with family in St. Augustine, including a trip to Ormond Beach to see more family. It was so good to slow down and find peace in that time of slowing. In reflecting on my summer bookends, I am grateful for the fullness of the summer seas and the stories I cherish because of being there.

The reflections of life’s moments go further than one would think, especially on a day as beautiful as last weekend was. We watched these sailboats go back and forth on the water for the longest time. Their white beauty was much like that of the clouds up above.

Picturesque beauty gives the heart time to ponder, slow down and sit at the edge of the water. It provides a place to think deeply and be next to someone I share my life with. Those times are ones to savor the moments and soak in the sunshine before the season changes again.

There is peace here in this place that is good for me. It settles down the thoughts that tend to rise like the waves. It brings a calming to the rough places. It leads my eyes out to where the water is the smoothest.

I think of this verse as I sit here: “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17

That means me ~ I am part of what God holds together.

That means those things I tend to humanly worry about.

That means the things I cannot control.

That means the waves that rise in me.

I find it much easier to sail with Him on stormy seas. He is my shelter. I raise my sail high, knowing He is in my boat with me. I do not sail life’s seas alone.

#Hesailswithme

Written by Noreen Sevret

May you find strength in this season and let God guide you on the seas you find yourself sailing. May you see a glimpse of the masterpiece He has created in you. As you start another season, may the change in colors weave their way through your life as they gently fall on the ground at your feet. 🙏