School concerts, graduations, banquets, tournaments, exams, recitals, teacher gifts, and the countdown to summer…all packed into thirty-one busy dawn-to-dusk days. I don’t know about you but it’s no wonder some of us feel like May is the other December. It’s like the busy holiday season without the cozy, colorful lights.
But here we are. We made it. We’ve survived the whirlwind of activities, and we can see June just around the corner. And whether you’ve limped toward the finish line, clutching your coffee in one hand and your calendar in the other or you thrived and kept the schedule like a boss, either way, we’ve made it. But…now what? It’s time to Rest, Reflect, Recalibrate, and Reconnect.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is not a day off or a vacation, this rest is for the soul. A spiritual rest. Because friends, May is loud. May is demanding. And May is draining. So, YES, take a nap or take a vacation, but remember that your spirit needs rest too. Stillness in the presence of God, intentionally trusting God is in control. It is okay to take a moment (or two or three!) and pause to just simply be with God. To breathe. To be reminded that the Creator holds all things, including you.
And while you’re resting, take some time to reflect.
A hymn that helps me remember to reflect is one you might be familiar with. It’s the classic hymn, Come thou Fount of Every Blessing…one that was often sung in the church of my childhood. However, there was one line that always puzzled me as a child, “Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come.” As I got older, I learned that the word Ebenezer, which as a child I only connected to Scrooge, comes from 1 Samuel 7:12, when, after God delivered Israel, the prophet Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” This stone was a tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness. And this song verse is meant to be a reminder to reflect on how, by the grace of God, we’ve come this far.
After a season like May-cember, it’s easy to just rush ahead into summer; but what if we took time to look back and notice where we’ve seen God’s faithfulness this month? Or where we grew or watched someone we love grow, along with or even despite ourselves?
God’s movement is all over the events on our calendars…we just have to take time to see it, and perhaps…recalibrate.
Beloved, sometimes we need to survive a packed month to realize just how unsustainable that kind of pace is. May-cember has a way of exposing us, whether we’ve got major FOMO (fear of missing out), a bent toward people-pleasing, or tend to overcommit ourselves, the post-May headspace can have us longing to recalibrate our focus.
So, before summer activities ramp up, be encouraged to take stock of your schedule and reclaim some time, even if it’s a small 5-minute window. Don’t let survival mode become your norm, instead, find ways to reconnect…with God, with family, and with yourself. Have an unhurried dinner around the table. Go for a walk. Picnic in the park. Visit a friend. Laugh. Do some self-care. Share joy.
And most importantly, take time to reconnect with God. Not out of guilt, but because of grace. God’s not angry with us when we get overwhelmed or forget last May-cember and overload our calendars yet again. God is simply overjoyed when we turn our attention back to our relationship, because God so desires to be in a growing relationship with us.
Friends, we’ve done it. We’ve survived May-cember. Now let’s Rest, Reflect, Recalibrate, and Reconnect…so that perhaps…we can Reimagine.
Reimagine the sacred space of summer. Entering summer with an openness that makes space for unplugging, that listens for bumble bee blessings, that releases bubbles of anxiousness, and that slows down enough to see firefly flashes of wonder.
