ha·zy - adjective
“made dim or cloudy by or as if by fine dust, smoke, or light vapor in the air; misty.”
The unending mystique of hazy summer days, sitting out on the proverbial patio (aka outside), and reading a book is one of the most calming experiences I have felt this season. The skies shimmer like a Polaroid photo, and the smooth, synth jazz plays on my desktop speakers in the vein of early 2000s Windows ambiance. The nature of it all is a little surprising, almost like Paul’s idea of learning to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-12) was the point. And sure, summer hasn’t just been idyllic reading and composing. It’s been packing boxes and hauling furniture for new friends, caring for church family— and chopping down trees that fell in backyard! It’s the James 1:27 kind-of-life. And yet, it has also brought new understanding of habits I’ve grown and habits I should have grown a long time ago.
I’m not a philosopher, nor do I like platitudes. I always want to find what I deem the common sense truth, somewhere between the happenings of logic and emotion. I think Solomon’s words capture the zeitgeist of my mind quite well, “This is what I have seen to be good: It is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life, which God has given to him; for this is his reward” (Ecclesiastes 5:18). I am learning how it is to enjoy life, even if it is a couple years too late (but after all, 20 is still young; I’m not “ancient” yet!).
Catch-up:
The Westerlies’ new album, Paradise, has some beautiful sounds. My favorite has to be “The 5:10 to Ronkonkoma.” Also, remembering the beautiful synth landscapes of Adam Bosarge, like in his album A Bent Wing on Curved Light.
Reading through Colossians and starting a devotion on the Psalms, and seeing how they connect has reawakened a hunger for the Word of God that has been a bit dormant since the start of the college experience.
Flipping through the prequel trilogy of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole (books #9, #10, and #11). It’s been okay, though sometimes the pacing has been hit or miss, and new plot points or characters are introduced at seemingly unplanned moments. It’s not bad, but not the best concerning some of the other books in the series. But hey, it made me remember what Goodreads was and now I’m using that more often. Follow me on there if you like. I’m also reading Augustine’s Confessions, so there’s that. I’ve been listening to more of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio books and audio dramas, either the ones I own or the ones on podcast/Spotify. They are pretty cool, and I’ve also catalogued them on Goodreads.
Following the Frutiger Aero trend, what more can I say about that?
There are things I long for in the fall semester: singings with the Dayton Sacred Harp, matcha and chai lattes at Rinnova, and good friends who have been winsome and fun and kind. And don’t forget impromptu trips to Washington Courthouse, OH (I should have gone out more that freshman year..)!
Yet I will miss things of the summer when I get there again to that routine, such as the amazing and convicting lessons of my Sunday school here at home, the freedom to lounge and rest when needed, and the companionship of my parents and church. Yet God seems to provide those things in professors, friends, and in a church I love and serve at over there. These, yes, were things I sought out (maybe sometimes expected), but God was the one who ultimately delivered. To take a spin on a friend’s tagline: finding the ordinary things being the beautiful fruit of the Christian walk.
And thus will begin the chronicles of a senior in college, not yet sure of the ultimate destination (on earth), but knowing the reliability of a good God in the midst of it all.
We have no abiding city here, for we seek the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14).
Sincerely,
A. J. Higgins