SUMMER SESSION #17-SORT OF LIKE WINTER BUT DIFFERENT

 I am sitting inside my air-conditioned cool house avoiding the heat of the Louisiana summer.  Inside it is the perfect 72 degrees.  As I thought it over, I remembered sitting inside my warm house in January and February avoiding the harsh-wet cold of Louisiana winters.  It was a perfect 68 degrees.  Through man-made advances--my life is relatively comfortable year round--no matter the temperature outside. (As long as there is no electrical interruption)

We are in the closing days of July.  One thing is for certain, it has been a HOT ONE!  We tend to think every summer has been the hottest, but Hero gives new meaning to the dog days of summer.  He is at least half chihuahua and does not like the cold.  He ALSO does not tolerate the extreme heat well in his old age.  Perhaps my dog and I are as one with the universe.  I do not tolerate the extreme heat well either NOR am I a big fan of cold extremes.  I can put on enough clothes in the winter to survive the weather.  Taking off enough clothes in the summer is not an option.  I become nauseated thinking about it.  Hero goes from the heated concrete in the courtyard to the cool ceramic tile of the airconditioned house multiple times everyday.  It is similar to the Polar plunge after a session in the sauna.



Though we do not have to endure but a few weeks of bitter cold here in Louisiana,  the sweltering heat of summer stays with us for months.  It will finally begin to cool down at the end of October with briefer and briefer returns to tropical weather spells.  I have to remind myself when #1 daughter lived in Pennsylvania, she endured winter like temperatures until our summer had begun here in Louisiana.  They did not plant their gardens until after Memorial Day for fear of a freeze.  SO, had I rather endure long months of winter with all that goes along with it or long months of summer like temperatures?  I remind myself on these sweltering days HOW I love living in the warmth of the South.  The option seems to be one extreme or the other.

We humans are certainly prone to be complainers.  Never satisfied with what ever our plight in life is.  Why?  Because the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.



We are not unlike this cow--sticking our necks under the barbed wire trying to sample what we think is the better life.  Why are we so prone to discontent?  Malcontent breeds nothing more than frustration as we look around us at what we think is the better life.  The truth of the matter is---there is good in almost all circumstances.  If we train ourselves to look for the good, we will find it.  AND that leads to the peace of contentment with where God has planted us.  Words for thinking when you feel this summer will never end--

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

Philippians 4:11

6 comments

  1. I'm so sick of summer's heat, but so very grateful for air conditioning, Lulu. Yes, we should learn (strive) to be content no matter what the conditions are, recognizing God's blessings in all of it.
    Blessings!

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    Replies
    1. In my youth, we did not always have a fully air conditioned world. I can still remember the feeling of sweat rolling down back back and sticking to the desk at school!
      Blessings!

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  2. We lived in FL for forty years--south FL for 23 of those years. I know of what you speak--the sweltering heat and high humidity, making it hard to breathe outdoors--dragging on for weeks on end. Now we live in Ohio where the dog-days of summer don't linger for so long. Yes, we have our share of gray days here. I've renamed them "cozy days."

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!