Let me set the stage… You have to understand my Washington State Climate. It’s part of my history and a very important part of my present and future life.
It’s been dry this summer. At least here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s not unusual, or so I’m told, that this is the normal occurrence for Western Washington. Of course, this summer has had its share of wildfires from within and without. We’ve had weeks of smog hued skylines that are caused by the winds bringing the smoke from up north.
We’ve lived here over 15 years now. Washington is actually two states separated by the Cascade Mountains that run north and south from Canada to Oregon. The western side of the state is remarkably green year round mostly due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the wet storms that pour in from what is commonly called the “Pineapple Express”. Yes. Our sister state in the middle of the Pacific gets blamed when we get those wet winter storms!
Eastern Washington is a higher plains area with pockets of large fertile zones where orchards and other crops grow as long as there is water from underground sources. Since this side of the state sits in the shadow of the Cascades, the mountains often trap the winter rains on the western side leaving Eastern Washington painted with a desert stroke of the paintbrush.
With my current states description past, let me tell you the thought I woke up with. I peeked out of the curtains and noticed that we had some light rain showers overnight and I was thrilled to think that it’s about time for my yard to green up, harvest the apples, and the plants to quit looking so stressed from the heat and rainless skies.
In this dried summer state I’ve had to take care to water the garden, the tender plants under the eaves of the house and on the porch, and those trees in buckets that still need to be put into the ground. Hardly has there been any moisture on the blades of grass, so my yard has gone dormant, browned up nicely, and is simply holding its own until the Fall and Winter storm shows up. Except for those pesky weeds. They always seem to grow no matter whether there is moisture or not!
However…There has hardly been any morning dew!
For months! And I’ve missed it! Walking barefoot in the grass that has been ladened with dew! The bristly blades with knife-like sharpness are succulently plump with moisture that keeps them soaking up for the roots to thrive. It’s been too dry!
Then a flash of insight.
I feel this same thing about missing my family. It’s been too long. The “dew like” times I create are are occasional phone calls where I get to soak up the minutes and make them last for days.
I feel this same thing about not having enough time off. It’s been too long. It’s been a hard push these 46 years of adult-hood with not enough downtime to enjoy smelling the roses along the way. You may be able to grasp minutes here, and hours there, but it’s not enough to make up for the 46 years of a treadmill existence. Vacations are often squeezed moments of constant push and go, and never the relaxing I enjoy when in the mountains with a people-less view of the horizon!
It’s 2018. I graduated high school in 1972, though I was in the class of 1973. I was working my first full-time job between my junior and senior year of high school that began around the beginning of June. I’ve been working, pushing, and going for 46 years. Uptimes, next to down times. Good times right alongside those pesky bad times. Every year I’ve been fortunate to have a few weeks off to enjoy a vaccination (vacation for the normal person), but not enough downtime to feel good about these past 4+ decades.
Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so tired. These busy years are catching up! And maybe I’ve not prepared as well as I should for those less than productive future “retired” years.
Some career gives you the entire summer off. Every year! You know who you are. It’s not necessarily “down time” because this may be the only time they get to travel with the crowds or enjoy their family time, but they often fill these weeks with necessary medical procedures, finishing up growth classes, or beginning their planning for the next work season. Okay. You figured it out. I’m talking about Teachers! Just ask my sister. Go ahead. She won’t mind!
Someone I know takes a “sabbatical” every year. 4 – 12 weeks off from the pressures of adult life. Downtime to recharge the batteries for the remainder of the year. Perhaps you cannot afford to do this, but I know that if I have a grindstone mentality about my responsibilities then it makes sense to plan an escape. It’s restorative.
Early today I thought about Morning Dew. That refreshment that comes whether you need it, or not. Dew not only refreshes the plants it rests upon, but also the soil and all the insect life that live at ankle level. Dew is gentle. It is not a hard rain, nor a flood. It just settles and rests where it does the best.
So. I turned to my research tool, my Bible, and looked up the Dew that shows up in the morning. 34 times Dew is referenced, but never in the New Testament. It only shows up in the Old Testament. It is often related
- For 40 years Israel survives in the wilderness from the quails that gave them meet, and the manna that appeared as the morning dew vanished.
- During this last days, Moses prepares a song of Glory to his God and describes his words as the drops of dew, and his doctrine as the rain. (Deuteronomy 32:1-2)
- In fact, as Moses prescribes blessings on each major family group of Israel (tribes), he uses the Dew analogy of when blessing the family of Joseph who preceded Israel into Egypt. (Deuteronomy 33:13-17)
- Dew is used as the telling sign to Gideon where he makes his decision to understand the provision of God upon his time as leader. (Judges 6:36-40)
- Elijah predicts a drought as one that has no rain, nor dew! (1 Kings 17:1-7)
- Knowledge comes from the depths being broken up, and the clouds drown gentle Dew upon those below. Deep thought! (Proverbs 3:20)
- God says he will be as the dew unto Israel as she grows. (Hosea 6:4)
Summary. Dew is ever present even when we do not notice. It is that morning nurture to life that is found in the absent times of rain. Dew is gentle, and perhaps does not “fall” but arrives with the humidity that already exists in the air. As the night cools everything down, the humidity forms droplets of Dew on everything it touches! Without Morning Dew many things would perish. Dew is the source of life during dry times and in arid places. It’s not found, nor needed during rainy seasons. Why? With rain everything soaks up the moisture and dew is not necessary. But rain can plummet and destroy when it comes in great quantities. Plants must endure the overabundance and then survive during the dry times on the lightly dwelling Morning Dew.
It's during the dry times that we survive only by the Morning Dew. Click To TweetMaybe this is my lesson for today. You need Morning Dew every day! It’s that refreshment that refuels the bedrock of your life and gives you support to live during drying times. Hard time. Stressful times. You need to know what refreshes you every day. Ensure that your life finds that Morning Dew.
This is important!