Soaking in Summer

The laundry was piled, the house was covered in dog hair and the bottles needed washing.

I had just put Rowan down for his afternoon nap when I stood up from the couch to stand against the sliding glass doors in the kitchen. The sun, beaming and warming the air to 82 degrees, was shouting at me to leave everything undone and just bathe in the light. I nodded and smiled.

Donned in a bikini I haven't worn in two summers, I grabbed the blanket-sized beach towel from the closet and rushed outside. I plugged in the baby monitor and coated my skin with a thick lacquer of 70 different SPFs.

[Don't laugh. If there's anything that can take away the joy of an afternoon outside, it's a sunburn. Not to mention, I'm half Irish and half Russian. You can only imagine what my skin looks like. My makeup color isn't called "Porcelain" for no good reason.]

With my tattered copy of Gilead in my hands and my sunglasses perched on my nose, I laid there. Baking. Soaking in every ounce of Vitamin D that I could in those short two hours.

I took the time to notice little things around my new backyard. The bushes that sit against the cedar and chicken-wire fence are starting to grow blooms of bright pink and red roses. The wind blew gently and little white pieces of fuzz started to swirl, though I couldn't seem to find the origin. I peered over into the garden... pleasantly surprised to see that the strawberries had turned a brilliant shade of red overnight.

Rolling over onto my back, I looked up into the endless blue to see Osprey headed towards the river to do some fishing. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

I closed my eyes, allowing my skin to be bathed in the warmth of the sun, imagining God's arms wrapped closely around me, bringing me in towards him in an embrace. I could feel Him, I could see Him, I could smell Him.

For too long have I let my heart be turned towards the things of the dark... bitterness, anger and discontent. It took a couple of hours in the Light and Warmth to see that I need to be turned around... away from the stench of garbage and turned towards the smells of freshly cut grass, Water Babies sunscreen and grape popsicles. The things of joy. Of love. Of contentment.

For me, I just need a couple of hours outside to be set straight.

What does it take for you to have your heart realigned?