Summer Impressions

If only Monet or Van Gogh could capture some of my childhood memories; they’d make quite a collection– especially the summer months. Summer is my favorite place! Bring on the brightest colors and the hottest temperatures! Ready to be refreshed! Recharged!

So many memories, my treasures, were discovered in the summertime. How deeply these images were impressed during those summers! In my mind, summertime was always green–first. Aboard an outdated lawn mower, wearing a serious layer of Banana Boat™ tanning oil, I’d zip over the five-acre spread first thing every Saturday morning. Freshly cut grass earned me a few dollars plus an envious tan! Of course, if I damaged Grandma’s roses in the process, then the only color I’d see was red–from the switch marks across the back of my legs. Most of my red memories are of fresh watermelons and strawberries, and a couple of major sunburns. Yellow is a definite color of summer. Lemons weren’t just for lemonade: lemon juice was a country girl’s secret D.I.Y. for hair highlights. How can I forget my bright yellow, banana-seat bicycle—forever an icon of freedom and independence! These flashbacks of endless blue skies over white sandy beaches still impress me!

One color, however, lived year-round in “my world.” From deep purple to lavender plus all the shades in between, anything worth keeping had to fall within this category: my favorite brush, backpack, sneakers, bedding, and one highly admired pair of boots. (Y’all may recall the term, “Ropers?”) All thanks to one very cool cousin, whose favorite color, of course, was purple! How’d she do it?

Ever wonder how to influence your own heart? On purpose?

The type of seed we plant determines the type of crop we get. Mark 4:24 says to “pay attention to what you hear. The same degree of thought and study you give to what you hear determines the degree of life and virtue that comes back to you.” The condition of the soil is a big factor, too. From Proverbs 4:4 we find these wonderful reminders to “let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.” I remind my own children of Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

With extra time during these colorful summer days, I try to reflect on the impressions I’m making–not just on others–but also on the condition of my heart! How impressed will you be?