PSA: Okay first off, a quick announcement. You guys seemed to like the Entwined Tales as a review series, so I’m going to open up the blog to reviewing sequels. Thus far, I’ve only reviewed stand alones and the first books in a series, but I like the idea of sharing even more with you!
Summer time is here! Whoot whoot! Monkies let the teachers out! Finally! (If you’re not laughing, you’re not a teacher XD) I’ve been looking forward to summer for a long time. Winter is beautiful, truly, and the Christmas season is by far my favorite. I love snuggling up to the hearth with a cup of hot cocoa to warm my hands and that unequivocal feeling of cozy you get in the earliest hours of the morning when you snuggle deeper into your warm cocoon while the world outside your bed freezes! Pretty snowy landscapes, thin, elegant icy scenes. Silver strands of tinsel and glitter, oh, boy do I love glitter! The time when families come together and when we celebrate the birth of Christ. Exchanging gifts, searching for the perfect one for the people you love and waiting with bated breath for their reactions. There are so many things about wintertime I love. But, y’all, winter is also cold. And I don’t do cold.
I’m a summer girl. I was born in the summer and I am far less aggravated by the heat than I am by the cold. It seems I am eternally chilled by something, even in the spring and fall. But in the summer, in the summer I am free! I get to travel and visit with family. I get to leave my job behind, mostly, for two months and just breathe. (Again, I’m a teacher, so vacation!) This summer couldn’t come soon enough, either. It’s been a crazy year, a hard year in a lot of ways. I had plans for the summer, for all of the things I wanted to do, and I hope I get to some of them. But it seems life just keeps piling on responsibilities one at a time until I fear I’ll buckle under their weight.
Do you ever feel like that? Like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Or like the weight of the world rests squarely on your shoulders? I do. I know it doesn’t, but sometimes it feels that way. Time is limited. There’s only so much of it. But, truthfully, we waste far more of it than we like to admit. Most of the time, the trick is prioritizing properly. What’s important to you? What do you want to do with your time?
We all have obligations that we have to meet. I’m chauffer this summer for my siblings so we can all visit my grandparents. It means a lot, a lot, of driving, which means time, energy, money, and looking out for other crazy drivers! But it also means happiness. The smiles that will light both my grandparents’ faces and those of my brothers and sister are worth the exertion of five and a half trips across states. I prioritize my family and the limited time I have with them.
After that, I have some personal goals I’ve set for myself this summer, and people whom I know will hold me accountable. I’ve got deadlines for reading specific books and deadlines for writing a set number of words to share with a partner. I’m participating in two different writing challenges and still have my WIP to invest in. Additionally, I’m attending my first writing conference this year!
Furthermore, despite being a teacher and having the summer “off,” I still have quite a few obligations throughout the summer to my job. Although I may not have to walk into school at 7:30 am Monday through Friday or leave at all hours of the night, I do still have several things I have to do and time I have to commit for a few different reasons. Then there’s doctor visits I can’t get to during the school year and a potential move between cities as well as moving my sister into her first apartment for her first year of college. The list goes on and on and the obligations pile up fast. Balancing the freedom of summer with personal goals, family, and career necessities isn’t easy. In fact, some days it’s downright frustrating and discouraging.
In spite of my busy schedule and mountain of to-do-lists, I really am very excited for summer. I’m excited to see people I love, to read a few books, write a few words, and stick my toes in the sand. Life doesn’t always go as planned. This summer certainly isn’t going as I’d initially thought it would. But that isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it feels like a loss. You think you’ve hit a brick wall when you don’t get the news you were hoping for, but you have to press on in spite of the setbacks.
God is guiding us. In Proverbs, it says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (16:9). I used to kind of pass over that verse, but lately, I’ve seen it through a different light. I never really understood why there was a “but.” I thought it was a bad thing that the man planned his steps, but now, as I’ve watched my plans crumble before me, I’m beginning to see it as a good thing. Instead of a correction or a reprimand, God is saying, “Don’t worry, my son, I’ve got you.” When my plans fail, He still has my life in His hands. His plan still succeeds. When life doesn’t work out the way I think it will, God will guide, or direct, me.
Even though I plan—and I believe that God wants me to take an active role in my life, to plan my way, to be wise about it, and not to just plop all of the responsibility on Him—my plans may fail. Despite my best efforts to do what I believe is best for my life, even what I believe God has called me to do, sometimes my vision is blurred by my humanity. But just because I obediently and wisely plan, doesn’t guarantee my plans will come to fruition. Instead of being angry with God and instead of falling into despair because the world feels like it’s working against me, I choose to believe, to trust, and to lean on God. I know He is directing my steps. He is closing doors and opening windows I don’t even see. And, ultimately, His plan will be far greater than anything I can imagine.
What are you spending your time on? Have you stopped to think about the time you waste on inconsequential things? What things do you prioritize now by spending that time on them? What things do you wished you prioritized instead? How can you lay out a plan and set goals to move toward that change in a healthy, practical, and lasting way?
And what are your summer plans? Are you going anywhere exciting or doing anything fun? Let me know in the comments below so I can share in your joy!
Love always,
Coralie