During the lazy, hazy hot days of summer many people want to take a break from their normal schedules and just lay low. Cottage/camping vacations are one of the most popular ways to get away and there is usually a mass exodus from our cities on week-ends. I have been fortunate to often miss that traffic, which would mean twice the amount of travelling time, to get to our little private retreat up north. Most of us hate the waiting and time it takes to make the journey. One of the great things about summer is that you often have more time for leisurely prayer, and it takes so little time to travel to a place where we can get in touch with God. It only takes the time to quieten our hearts and minds. There are also no others on the great internet of prayer that can bump us off, or cause a virus to block our messages to God. There is no spam or commercials and God’s ears are always available to us when we choose to turn to him. When you are hot and frustrated by the weather, or the pace of life, you can always get a lift from some time spent with the creator. His peace is more enduring than any that the world can offer. We are all strangers and sojourners on this planet. We are all temporary residents of this world and it is like coming to our true home when we make first contact with the Kingdom of Heaven. In the depths of our souls we know that we have “come home” and that there we are finally loved, known and healed in ways that the world can never come near to matching. This summer take a break and enjoy some quiet time with God whereever you may find yourself. Take time to enjoy watching a bird, or a sunset, to feel a gentle breeze, or smell the aroma of a new morning or a dark night. Get to a dark space and take time to gaze at a few stars and to enjoy the light show that god has ordered. The peace of your soul will be strengthened by this more fully and more lastingly than by a brew or drug. May the peace of the Lord touch our heart mind and body and bring you love.

Rev. Tijs, at St. Giles Presbyterian Church.

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