Have you started yet?

My brother, Cheyenne, recently posted a picture of himself swimming up out of a pool with his mouth opened wide for a bite. His caption read: “I’m eating summer.”

I hope you’ve been doing that too. Whether or not you’re fortunate enough to have an official summer vacation, I hope you’ve been able to savor the taste of evening walks, bicycle rides, warm morning devotions, day trips to Newport Beach, and moonlit conversations under the Tiki Torches.

Summer is a complex season. For some, it’s so busy that’s it’s gone before it even begins, while for others it’s a crash pad where they try to recoup from a year of overcrowded schedules and workloads. Some people hang all of their hopes for fun on a measly one or two-week getaway, others expect the whole season to be fun, tropical, and memorable, while somehow remaining affordable.

We sure put a lot of pressure on our summers.

I think our summers might be a little healthier if we approached them with some specific objectives.

Stay on mission even while we take a break. Even while we plan our weekends away and set out to enjoy some well-deserved leisure time, let’s not forget our calling to love and care for our world, and let’s not forget the suffering people who we’re growing attached to through our ministries and our reading of The Hole in our Gospel. Staying on mission won’t diminish our sense of fun it will enhance it and keep it in a healthier perspective.

Don’t let the mission keep you from taking a break. Just as we shouldn’t abandon the mission when we pause for a break, neither should we allow the needs of the mission to cancel our break. Rest—do you remember what “rest” is—was God’s idea, and if we allow ourselves to drink deeply of His Sabbath rest we will be much more likely to stay on mission for the long haul.

Finally, eat a bite of summer every day.