If you haven’t been counting the days till it arrives, it’s about time. As youth, we should be looking forward to this time, not as a time when we get to go about and do whatever springs on our minds. Summer ought not to be a time that we take advantage of to follow our whims. We ought to go into summer with the intention of getting something out of it. We ought to be deliberate about how we use our summer.
Last summer, I looked with a bit of dread at the boredom I knew was going to come from another meaningless summer. I’d let too many summers go by and I had nothing to show for the extra time I had except for a bit more money than usual. So last summer I began something that I hope will be a tradition for me throughout the rest of my years in school. I looked for a specific area of spiritual relevance and dedicated several quiet times and extra times of study to learning about it. Last summer I decided to do prayer. I read several books on the issue and prayed in my quiet times that God would give me a heart that communicates with Him 24/7. Admittedly, I am not near as close as I would like to be in this area. But the growth I made last summer in that area really inspired me to continue this practice of focusing on one spiritual area. (You can find some of my memoirs on that summer here.)
This practice is one that I would heartily recommend to anyone. It was so helpful for me to use the liberty of summer’s schedule to look at just one area of my life and seek to grow in it. Because I was not so occupied by the stresses of school and had a clear direction in which I would like to grow, I was blessed to be able to learn a lot and grow significantly.
Now this year, I have a mind to focus on growing in humility, specifically learning to think of myself humbly. I have set out a plan for myself that I hope will last throughout the summer.
- Read Humility by C.J. Mahaney and go through it with a pencil in hand*.
- Read through and meditate on Romans during quiet times.
- After finishing Romans, read through Philippians and memorize key passages.
- Read The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul and go through it with a pencil.
- Talk with my dad regularly about the temptations and struggles in my growth.
- Ask my close friends regularly if they see any area in need of growth.
I’m not telling you this plan so you could learn from my example, though I hope you guys will see the value of planning through your summer. A large reason why I’m sharing this with you guys is so you can give me recommendations of other books or steps that you would see relevant for me to incorporate into my plan. So please feel free to recommend something that you would say is helpful. I’m open to all suggestions.
So that’s something I’m planning for the summer. I heartily encourage you guys to do something similar. I exhort you to take a hold of this summer and seek to find a way that you can get the most out of it. It’s not too soon to be planning for it.
Now don’t get me wrong, planning your summer will not make it fruitful. God makes our lives fruitful. Don’t fall into the trap of legalism and thinking that you are somehow going to make yourself better by planning how you will grow. But understand that there is wisdom in looking and planning how you would like to meet God. So go and plan your summer with the understanding that it is God who ultimately gets the glory for our growth. Remain humble throughout the process so that we can pursue our sanctification to the greater glory of God.
*I personally find that I get so much more out of what I read when I go through it with a pencil in hand. It causes me to interact with the text more and causes me to be intentional to look for key phrases and important passages. This is another practice I would recommend.
