Dear Church Family,

We are wrapping up another school year and beginning the shift into summer.  With this transition, the rhythms of life change. The days get longer, and often fuller for those involved in travel sports and youth activities.  This is often a time for projects that have gone neglected. 

Around the church, summer is a season for addressing such projects. This week, the pad by the Atrium is scheduled to be poured. The parking area will be resealed and painted. We will take a closer look at the Crossroads parking lot to see whether it needs maintenance. The books from the Long Room need to be sorted. The areas that became “catch-all” spaces during the construction process need to be sorted, stored, or disposed of.

These are the projects that need to be done, but don’t make it to the top of our priority lists. We know that, at some point, they must be done, but often, those projects sit. Not because we do not want to address them, but because there is always something else demanding our attention.

As I thought about the upcoming summer projects, another question began to challenge me: What spiritual projects have we been putting off?

Not building projects. Not parking lots. Not boxes of books or closets full of odds and ends, but the deeper things in our lives require addressing. These are the matters of the soul. Things like a stagnant prayer life, no Bible study, a lack of relational connection, the nagging sin that goes unchecked, or any spiritual discipline that we know needs attention, but we simply put off. 

The danger, of course, is that life rarely slows down on its own. If we wait for the perfect season to address these matters, it may never come. Proverbs 27:1 reminds us, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” We must take care not to let tomorrow become a convenient hiding place for today’s obedience.

Scripture often calls God’s people to respond in the here and now. Hebrews 3:15 says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” That word “today” is important. God’s invitation is not merely for some future version of ourselves, the version with more time, more energy, more focus, or fewer distractions. He calls us now, in the middle of ordinary life, with all its noise and dust and busyness.

This does not mean we can fix everything at once, but we cannot make spiritual procrastination commonplace. God is patient and gracious. But His grace is not an invitation to neglect. It is an invitation to begin.

Let’s consider if this summer could be a season of holy attention. As we look around the church and address the projects that have been waiting, let us also ask the Lord to show us what has been waiting for attention in our own hearts and spirits.  Let us follow David’s example. In Psalm 139:23–24 he offers a good prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Ponder and meditate on this idea as we approach the changing season. 

So let me encourage you to ask prayerfully: Lord, is there anything I have been putting off? Then listen. And when He brings something to mind, consider making it a priority.

Maybe the first step is small. Make the phone call. Open the Bible. Spend ten quiet minutes in prayer. Ask for forgiveness. Offer forgiveness. Volunteer. Return to worship with renewed intention. Speak with an elder, a trusted friend, or a mentor. Begin with what God’s Spirit shines light upon.

This summer, by God’s grace, as we tend to concrete and parking areas, boxes and books, may we also tend to our hearts. Let’s address not only what has been put off around us, but what has been put off within us.

Loving you all, 

Michael