One of the real surprises when we moved back here to Minnesota after 25 years in New Mexico was Summer. I had grown accustomed to the eight month summers of mid-New Mexico on the high plains south of Albuquerque. March to October I could expect heat and sun. I came to hate the sun. It made it impossible to work outside, and on & on.

I was really looking forward to summers in Minnesota. I knew about the mosquitoes, but they were pretty much under control in the cities. What i had forgotten about was the panic to get outside while the sun shines. The days are immensely long 5:30 am to after 9pm and Minnesotans seem to think it’s a sin to not be out in it. I’m not into that. For me, it’s a relief to only have to hide inside from the heat for a month and a half  (mid-July to Labor Day) instead of staying inside from April through the end of September.

But Summer is a real problem up here. It is considered a legitimate excuse to be irresponsible. The Protestant work ethic still reigns supreme up here, but everyone get three months off for good behavior from Memorial day to Labor day. Sad to say, this means the relationship with God is put on the shelf for those 3 months. Phone calls and emails are not returned. It’s almost as bad as being back in mañana-land (remembering that mañana does not mean tomorrow — it means not today). 

But the most dangerous, of course, is that children are taught that churches close for the summer, that God is not important for the summer, that we don’t have to be serious for the summer.

Pray for us all…