Winding Down

Even though it is only mid August, summer is winding down.  Tomorrow our youngest, Leah, goes back to college as a sophomore.  She is excited but also her summer was super fast.  Only a week off because of a great internship she had the opportunity to take.  She got a contract for another one next summer.  We are super proud of her and all she has learned and is applying.  Such a smart girl.  Savannah is getting ready to start kindergarten and I could just cry my eyes out over that!  Piper will be in the second grade.....cue extreme wailing and fit pitching!  Time is just flying!  Brooks and Kyra are soon turning three years old and Finley is 17 months today.  And on a side note....I have been married six whole months today!!  School will start soon and I go back in less than two weeks.  In a couple of years I will be winding down myself.  I plan on retiring in 2 1/2 more school years and for that I wish time would fly right on by.  As I look around I see lots of things winding down.  Leaves are getting that super dark green, flowers are starting to dry up and fall away.  Gardens are not producing.  I have picked the last of the cucumbers and green beans and are down to just a few tomatoes.  Summer is my favorite time of the year for lots of reasons.  I love the heat, the pool, the time off, the kids around all the time, cookouts and all sorts of activities.  But with this season coming to a quick close there is the excitement of autumn.  Football, harvest festivals, pumpkin patches, cooler weather, crisp air and lots of family holidays to get ready for.  I should not look at time as a winding down process but as a series of corners to turn.  Sections of time that hold all kinds of things that God has laid out for us.  He has prepared all our days for us and nothing takes Him by surprise.  I love that.  With God, there is no winding down....only looking ahead.  There is always something that He has in store for His children.  So as I am watching this summer trickle away I can look forward to the school year ahead with the assurance that the Lord knows what is coming and that His plans are always good.  And before I know it......next summer will be here!