Speaker 1: Welcome to Abides Sleep Meditations. I'm Tyler Boss. Today's meditation
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Speaker 3: and body as we hear tonight's sleep story.
Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to this sleep story from Abide. I'm Melissa.
Speaker 2: Thanks for joining me for our story a summer night
Speaker 2: beneath twinkling lights. In this sleep story, you'll hear about
Speaker 2: the joy that summer can bring through descriptive vignettes, a
Speaker 2: summer psalm and encouragement for all who feel therein a
Speaker 2: summer drought. Jeremiah chapter seventeen, verses seven and eight says,
Speaker 2: but blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
Speaker 2: whose confidence is in him. They will be like a
Speaker 2: tree planted by the water that sends out its roots
Speaker 2: by the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes,
Speaker 2: its leaves are always green, It has no worries and
Speaker 2: a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit.
Speaker 2: God's love and provision is plentiful in every season. The summer, however,
Speaker 2: tends to be a little more dramatic about it. With
Speaker 2: splashy flowers of every color, the opportunity to be outside,
Speaker 2: and the warmth of the sun, we often feel more
Speaker 2: playful and light. Let's not forget these lazy summer days
Speaker 2: and summer nights under the stars. There is so much
Speaker 2: beauty and abundance. Of course, there are also challenges, such
Speaker 2: as drought and dryness. It can be a time when
Speaker 2: more tending and cultivation is needed, both in our garden
Speaker 2: and are inner self. As you rest and listen, you
Speaker 2: will hear encouragement for the sun scorched places, as well
Speaker 2: as celebration of the bountifulness of summer. The vignettes include
Speaker 2: the sounds and bounty of summer, soul, the sun, a
Speaker 2: short summer tale, a summer psalm, and a languid summer night.
Speaker 2: Genesis chapter eight, verse twenty two says, as long as
Speaker 2: the earth endures seed time and harvest, cold and heat,
Speaker 2: summer and winter, day and night will never cease. God
Speaker 2: has given us the beauty of our four seasons, and
Speaker 2: with each one, a new facet of ourselves is invited
Speaker 2: to emerge. The fall season gives us with the visual
Speaker 2: turning of time. Cool autumn days show us change doesn't
Speaker 2: have to be a burden. And like the leaves that
Speaker 2: turn from green to amber, crimson, and gold and then
Speaker 2: fall to the ground, there's a great deal of freedom
Speaker 2: in letting go. Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse one tells us
Speaker 2: for everything there is a season. There's a time for everything,
Speaker 2: and a season for every activity under the heavens. In
Speaker 2: the winter months, we draw into coziness. Like our furry
Speaker 2: friends who hibernate through the frigid days. We two nestle
Speaker 2: in by ourselves or with loved ones. We treasure the
Speaker 2: feeling of warmth. Like the ground that lies fallow in
Speaker 2: the cold, calling for a time of rest, we too
Speaker 2: have less distractions of outside goings on and more opportunity
Speaker 2: for rest and introspection. Job chapter thirty seven, Versus five
Speaker 2: and six sas he says, to the snow fall on
Speaker 2: the earth, and to the rain shower, be a mighty downpour.
Speaker 2: So that everyone he has made may know his work.
Speaker 2: He stops all people from their labor. Then, like from
Speaker 2: a dream, spring awakens us with showers and budding soil,
Speaker 2: every living creature chirping with life. Song of Songs Chapter two,
Speaker 2: verses eleven and twelve says, See the winter is past,
Speaker 2: the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth.
Speaker 2: The season of singing has come. In the season of spring.
Speaker 2: God's creation calls us to rise to bloom. Spring asks
Speaker 2: us to connect with others and ourselves, and to stand
Speaker 2: as a captive audience to living art created by the
Speaker 2: great Artist. It is unveiled before us until we can't
Speaker 2: help but praise the Creator. Then renewed with hope and thriving,
Speaker 2: the brightness of summer is ablaze. The awakening has occurred,
Speaker 2: and now the thriving can commence. It's time for blue skies, celebration,
Speaker 2: and flourishing. Summer is a time for joy because the
Speaker 2: light is made full and we can soak in its
Speaker 2: brilliance and growth. Jeremiah chapter seventeen, verses seven and eight says,
Speaker 2: but blessed is the one who trusts the Lord, whose
Speaker 2: confidence is in him. They will be like a tree
Speaker 2: planted by the water that sends out its roots by
Speaker 2: the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes.
Speaker 2: Its leaves are always green. It has no worries in
Speaker 2: a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit.
Speaker 2: The sounds and beauty of summer summer. When the earth
Speaker 2: sheds winter and fallow grounds awaken, then nature shows off
Speaker 2: what it was created to do. Trees, once leafless and
Speaker 2: gray brown, yield every shade of green and grow heavy
Speaker 2: with fruit and nuts. Wild Berries grow close to the ground,
Speaker 2: sprawling and spreading sweetness. Peaches are decadent with golden goodness,
Speaker 2: and watermelons are pink and fresh. Wide fields of crops
Speaker 2: flourish in the season's shining light. It's summer. Time to
Speaker 2: run through sprinklers with bare feet and chase bullfrogs. Time
Speaker 2: for butterflies to emerge from their cocoons. Bird songs are
Speaker 2: summer songs, and the music goes on and on and on.
Speaker 2: The sunlight sets us free while the earth yields summer delights.
Speaker 2: Picnic blankets and beach towels, flip flops and vacation days,
Speaker 2: fields of sunflowers, and freezers full of popsicles, the summer
Speaker 2: drive in and picnics beneath the old tree out back.
Speaker 2: Summer brings the sounds of family chatter and childlife laughter,
Speaker 2: the chirping of crickets and choruses of tree frogs. It
Speaker 2: brings the buzz of bees pollinating, and the rumbling of
Speaker 2: a gathering summer storm. Summer gives us the sound of
Speaker 2: warm breezes blowing the leaves of trees in soft wishing whispers,
Speaker 2: a sound that calls us to the hammock strung securely
Speaker 2: beneath a tree, giving a gentle creaking sound as it
Speaker 2: lazily rocks its sleeper to rest for an afternoon nap.
Speaker 2: There is plenty of time for rest, and we have
Speaker 2: all we need. The bounty of summer fills us with possibility.
Speaker 2: It calls us to play a little more, to expand
Speaker 2: into what we desire, and to dance with gratitude to
Speaker 2: the one who made us, the one who crafted every
Speaker 2: flower bud and caused it to bloom, The one who
Speaker 2: watches over the seedlings as they reach the sky and
Speaker 2: bear fruit, the one who sends reins with the wave
Speaker 2: of his hand, the one who calls from hibernation those
Speaker 2: who sleep. The one who dances and celebrates beside us
Speaker 2: to the sounds and bounty of summer, as Psalm chapter one,
Speaker 2: verse three tells us, and he shall be like a
Speaker 2: tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth
Speaker 2: his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither,
Speaker 2: and whatsoever he does shall prosper. Soul the Sun a
Speaker 2: short summer tale. Soul the Sun sat lazily on his
Speaker 2: throne of cloud and blue. His rays spread to the
Speaker 2: far reaches of the little planet covered in water and
Speaker 2: emerald green. His job took no effort, and he was
Speaker 2: bored with all the burning and shining and the continual
Speaker 2: scorching of heat and energy. Soul the Sun was sullen
Speaker 2: and moody. The little planet below got to spin about
Speaker 2: in a dance of shadow and light. Soul burned with
Speaker 2: jealousy that he did not know the hiddenness of shadow,
Speaker 2: What mystery and allure there seemed to be in a
Speaker 2: smoky darkness. Yet here he was suspended and wildly seen,
Speaker 2: rays sprawling all over the place. Soul hated when his
Speaker 2: glare blinded everyone's eyes. He didn't mean to sure. He
Speaker 2: wanted to be like everyone else, but how sad that
Speaker 2: it was a hazard to gaze at him. It was
Speaker 2: hardest in the summer months, Oh the summer months, when
Speaker 2: Soul's curiosity drew him closer to the little planet's surface.
Speaker 2: There he was met with a moaning and complaint, contempt
Speaker 2: for his heat and glare. He only wanted to see.
Speaker 2: He couldn't help his blaze, He couldn't help his toasty nature.
Speaker 2: How he wished he could offer the chill of shadow
Speaker 2: a place to hide and seek, He only offered illumination, exposure,
Speaker 2: and of course, the feverish heat. One day, when Soul
Speaker 2: drew nearest to the little planet, on the day they
Speaker 2: called the solstice, Soul hovered especially close enough to see
Speaker 2: a little girl twirling in a field in the northern hemisphere.
Speaker 2: Soul watched as she danced and danced and danced, then
Speaker 2: rested in a sunflower patch. Giant sunflowers towered over her,
Speaker 2: and smaller sunflowers bloomed closer to the ground. From a
Speaker 2: nearby house, a woman called the little girl, Maria. Can
Speaker 2: you water the sunflowers while you're out there? Maria? Soul thought,
Speaker 2: what a sweet name for this little dancing daughter of
Speaker 2: the sunflowers. Maria stood and grabbed a small tin watering can.
Speaker 2: She hummed as she sprinkled drops of water at the
Speaker 2: feet of each stem. Her dark hair hung long and tangled,
Speaker 2: and she wore a yellow sun dress with tiny flowers
Speaker 2: on it. Saul thought to himself, she is almost like
Speaker 2: a little mini ray of sunshine all on her own.
Speaker 2: She sang on, delighting Soul. After a little while, she
Speaker 2: suddenly stopped. She put her watering can down and lifted
Speaker 2: her eyes to look right at Soul. Oh, now, little Sunshine,
Speaker 2: do not look at me. I will only hurt your eyes.
Speaker 2: He knew she couldn't hear him, no one ever did,
Speaker 2: but she closed her eyes as if she had heard
Speaker 2: his warning. Unlike others who look into the unrelenting light
Speaker 2: of the sun and quickly looked to the ground, realizing
Speaker 2: their mistake, Little Sunshine held her face toward Soul's light.
Speaker 2: Though her eyes were closed and she could see nothing,
Speaker 2: she smiled and glowed in the light. It was like
Speaker 2: she was soaking in as much of Soul's warmth as
Speaker 2: she could. Still she smiled, eyes closed. Soul smiled too.
Speaker 2: After a few moments, she lowered her head and began
Speaker 2: singing again while she continued watering the sunflowers. Her song
Speaker 2: was familiar to Soul. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
Speaker 2: You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear,
Speaker 2: how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.
Speaker 2: Soul thought he would cry if the tears wouldn't evaporate
Speaker 2: before they fell, But his self, pity and loathing were
Speaker 2: also evaporating. Little sunshine had sung him to happiness. Why
Speaker 2: had he been so sullen and moody? So what if
Speaker 2: he isn't seen and gazed upon? His warmth could be
Speaker 2: felt rather than seen. So what if he didn't know
Speaker 2: the mystery of shadow? His light made people happy, made
Speaker 2: Maria dancing, daughter of the sunflowers happy. Soul decided from
Speaker 2: his throne of cloud and blue that maybe illuminating a
Speaker 2: world full of little sunshines shining back at him wasn't
Speaker 2: so bad after all. Let me pray for you one
Speaker 2: last time. God, Thank you for your seasons. We know
Speaker 2: you create them for our benefit and use them for
Speaker 2: our good. Bless my friend who is resting in whatever
Speaker 2: season they find themselves. Bless them with understanding growth abundance
Speaker 2: and trust in You for all of these things. May
Speaker 2: they find themselves in a summer season of flourishing and
Speaker 2: thriving with the abundance you give. Thank you for your
Speaker 2: abundance and your abounding love in Jesus's name, Amen, thank
Speaker 2: you for joining me for this series of seasons a
Speaker 2: summer night beneath the twinkling lights. If you are in
Speaker 2: a season of trout, I pray you are encouraged by
Speaker 2: Jeremiah Chapter seventeen, verses seven and eight, that says, blessed
Speaker 2: is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence
Speaker 2: is in him. They will be like a tree planted
Speaker 2: by the water, that out its roots by the stream.
Speaker 2: It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are
Speaker 2: always green. It has no worries in a year of drought,
Speaker 2: and never fails to bear fruit.