I Love June!

 I love June! It's one of my favorite months. For so many reasons.

June is the beginning of the summer season, with a slower pace and laid-back vibe. It's wonderfully warm, yet without the brutal humidity that marks July and August here in my part of the country.

June is the month of peaches and watermelon and cantaloupe. Of farmer's markets filled with all sorts of delightful fresh produce. It's the month when tomatoes begin again to taste like tomatoes should. Not like those hothouse tomatoes we've been eating all winter. You know - the ones with not taste!

June is the month we celebrate our wedding anniversary. That's coming later this week, and we will celebrate 49 years of marriage. I'm not sure yet how we will mark the occasion, but there will probably be good food involved!

And June begins the vacation season. As a family, we get to spend an entire week together, and I am so looking forward to it! Last year, of course, there were no family vacations. We had planned that this year we would take a cruise to the Bahamas. But the cruise was cancelled. Instead, we will be spending the week in the Smoky Mountains. There will be love and laughter and wonderful memories made. I'm counting the days!

We had planned another trip for this June, but it has also been cancelled. Today is the day when Al and I had anticipated boarding a flight for Tel Aviv with plans to spend ten days walking where Jesus walked. But, as the Scottish poet Robert Burns once wrote, "the best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry."

Our best laid plan for this week has gone awry, so we will adjust our plans and make new ones for this week. It will include time with friends, time to celebrate, and time to reflect on all God's goodness to us.

In Lucy Maud Montgomery's book Anne of Green Gables, you may recall that Anne said said "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." I agree with her. I love October. It's another of my favorite months.

But I am also so glad to live in a world where there is June!

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." (James 1:17 NASB)