Summer Solstice
When I was a kid, summer was like magic. During those summers long ago, I would wake up in the morning with a rush of possibility. There would be this fierce sense of joy that would fill my chest as I contemplated the day to come. And those days would last so long, wouldn't they? When I was young I wanted to wring every bit if adventure out of those summer days and nights. I would stay outside as long as I could---until it was almost too dark to see. One memory seems to stand out for me today--it's one that I've brought to mind over and again throughout my life. In my mind's eye I can see myself at age 10, catching fireflies with my cousins in the gathering South Carolina dusk. My parents are young--younger than I am now. My grandmother, four uncles and my aunt are alive and laughing. It was a holy moment, and it is a gift to be able to recall it with such vivid detail. In the New Testament, there is a G...