Summer Longing

I stretch out in bed under my white covers and look at the rain streaking down the panes, the dark sky beyond. Didn't we say, "Let summer begin!" a month ago? A sigh settles somewhere in my soul.

I look at the book resting next to me on the bed, 'Fire and Rain The Wild-Hearted Faith of Elijah' by Ray Pritchard. We sure have the rain! Then, I feel a stirring in my soul. A small spark. A little flame. A tiny hint of trepidation.

This morning, I was quietly bemoaning that M and I won't make it to Cannon Beach this summer to hear Ray Pritchard speak as we did last year (see America August 2009). M can't get the time off work and nor can our finances stretch that far right now. Waking to a rain-filled West Coast morning fuels the longing for summer and the sun-filled memories of last year's trip to the Oregon coast.

I pick up the book and run my hand slowly over the cover. While I can't get to hear Ray Pritchard in person, reading this book I can hear his booming Southern voice, his 'Y'all' reference to the audience and his passion overflowing on each page. But it's not just that. This book has got my attention. The title flamed my curiosity back in August when I bought it at the conference. It's been on my bedside table since then, waiting its turn to be read. Now it is time.

I'm only three chapters into the twelve chapter book and already I am using two book marks. One to record my place as a steam read the book in my usual devouring fashion; the other to mark where I will resume my meditative method of pondering and praying through the text in my morning quiet time.

My lost sigh over summer evaporates. Yes, we won't get to sink our feet into the sand, take walks to Haystack Rock, browse through the quaint town, attend the conference. I look at the book again. What it promises to reveal is as exciting, wild and dangerous as the personality it will unlock - Elijah, the great prophet of the Old Testament and his walk with God.

I feel my soul stir.