In the in-between seasons, when routines fade, intention keeps the mission alive.”
It feels like certain seasons have a predictable rhythm in church life. The fall has a certain amount of run-up towards Christmas, and the spring has the same with Easter.
But the summer seems like it’s a perpetual wildcard.
If we’re not wise with our time off, we won’t come back any more rested than we were before.
Some churches use the season as a time of rest, with less events on the calendar and more margin for staff to take breaks amidst programming pauses. Others swing the pendulum the other way and fill the time with more events than usual, ranging from Vacation Bible School to youth camps and midweek social events that are easier to schedule since school is out.
For techs, this can also be a season of upheaval, with our regular routines jostled because of not only the church calendar but also perhaps due to our own families’ routines and activities.
When we get bumped out of our regular routines, it’s easy to then let ourselves be dragged along by whatever the circumstances are dictating. We may be sprinting from one church event to another, or running ragged taking our own kids to various activities as we try to keep them busy during the school-less days.
Jesus offers rest for our souls, not just our schedules.
As this happens, it becomes harder to be intentional about how we’re spending our time and energy, and before we know it, it’s already fall again. Maybe we feel like summer flew by and it was just wasted time for us. Maybe we feel unrested. Maybe we feel unprepared for the next season on the church calendar.
During the summer season, how do we avoid having a “summer slump” in so many areas of our lives and ensure that we’re still living a healthy, productive life, both at home and in ministry?
When routines disappear, resolve becomes essential.
The key is to be intentional about multiple different areas.
1. Rest and spiritual health
Church life is already busy enough for many of us, whether we’re staff or volunteering our time on top of a regular 40-hour job. Ministry happens out of the overflow, and trying to serve (and give emotionally) without having our own tank filled is a recipe for burnout.
And for those of us with families, sometimes taking a “family vacation” during the summer can be just as exhausting as the job we’re trying to take a break from.
While it’s critical that we plan intentional times of rest during available windows on the church calendar, simply taking off days isn’t a guarantee that we’ll be rested and refreshed, especially if we’re not wise with our time.
As Jesus taught in Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest . . . and you will find rest for your souls.”
Ministry happens out of the overflow—don’t serve from an empty tank.
When we first focus on righting ourselves spiritually, ensuring that Jesus is at the center of who we are and what we do, he has the ability to bring peace and healing to our minds. And it’s interesting how he says he’ll bring peace to our “souls,” not our bodies.
Our soul is the seat of our emotions and feelings. And how often, when we get worn out and exhausted, do we find ourselves in unhealthy places emotionally? Stress can take its toll on our thoughts, increase anxiety, and affect how we see others. No wonder, then, that Jesus wants us to find rest in him so he can fix those areas.
When we’re rested and reset spiritually, it will affect our outlook for every other area of life too, because it’s like wiping the smudges off a pair of glasses: it lets us see everything else clearly.
2. Relationships.
When life gets busy, for any reason, it becomes easy to isolate ourselves relationally. Yes, we might be around people all the time, whether at church or at home, but we may be so focused on upcoming tasks that we completely miss out on the opportunity to engage relationally at anything other than surface level.
So as we’re sprinting from VBS to youth camp or driving our kids from summer camp to grandma’s house, the pace of our lives may be preventing us from actually having real conversations with anyone.
Am I still engaging with small groups through church, or am I taking my own version of a summer break and missing out on the chance to connect with others? Or maybe I’m so busy having a “fun” summer with cookouts and beach trips that I’ve neglected connecting with an advisor or mentor who can provide counsel?
It’s easy in general to be surrounded by people but to still feel alone, and the summer season is no different. We need people around us in every season to help sharpen and support us, because we never know when we’ll need them.
3. Resolve.
Summer is a great time to let our feelings take charge of our decision-making process. Maybe we feel like sleeping in more, or eating more, or being lazy more, or being committed to less, or working less, or even reading our Bible less, all in the name of “how we feel” at that particular time.
If that’s the case, then there may be no more important time of the year to stick to the discipline and resolve necessary to not let our feelings make all of our decisions.
I may feel like staying up later on a work night to do something fun, but is that still the best move to aid my productivity? I might feel like bingeing on certain snacks or foods, but is that in the best interest of my health? I may not be in the mood to get up early and read my Bible, but is skipping that routine really the best decision I can make?
Just because I feel something doesn’t necessarily mean I need to do it. And our feelings will not only lie to us, but their constant shifting can lead to a very unsettled and uncertain life if they’re the basis for our decision-making.
As Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) states, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” We can’t trust our feelings to be the barometer for our lives!
Instead, let’s make a renewed commitment to do the right things regardless of how we feel. Let’s stay invested in our spiritual routines. Let’s take good care of our bodies. Let’s make wise choices with how we spend and prioritize our time. Because those decisions are easy and fun? Probably not. But because sometimes the best thing isn’t always the easy thing or the fun thing, and is still the right thing.
It can get easy to feel out of whack in the summer, whether due to craziness at church or because of summer vacation plans that pull us from our routines. And when things are different and our routines take a back seat, it can often lead to unintended consequences that we end up paying for down the road.
So this summer, instead of falling into a “summer slump” that leads to a “fall frustration,” let’s be intentional about investing our time and energy into the right things.
