We had record-breaking heat last week. Some churches even cancelled services, it was so hot. We thought it was hot when the temps moved up to 111 degrees on Sunday, but Monday it reached 116. That was the highest temperatures ever recorded in our area. Later in the afternoon, we felt a furnace-like breeze that was nearly unbearable. I’m not writing about the weather today, but about taking a break from the heat and scurry of life.

The past few weeks have been busy ones. I like moving fast and getting things done and even relish the fast pace, it seems to be in my DNA, but in spite of that, I was weary of being so scheduled. I hit a bump. I wanted to just stop and not do.

This week, I toured an old house in Astoria with my daughter, a port town at the mouth of the Columbia River. A famous house still stands from the 1880’s, built by a river pilot, Captain George Flavel. The house and woodwork were out-of-this-world-beautiful and so different from how houses are built and finished today. When the house was built by one of the first millionaires in Oregon, the family hired a full time German gardener to landscape the property with berry bushes, vegetable gardens, and flower beds. They were most likely beautiful in the moist sea town, but on this day, they were dried and weedy. What got my attention, however, were the beautiful lilies in the pond.

The pond water was scummy and cloudy, but the lilies floating atop the pond, beautiful. They seemed to say, “we’re the main event,” not the surrounding waters.

In my busy, very hot week, I realized while observing the beautiful lilies in the pond, how I need to sit back and flourish in my surroundings. I need to take the time to rest, relax, and be refreshed–in spite of the heat and busyness of life.

Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are (Luke 12:27 NLT).

I’m going to take a lesson from the lilies in that dingy pond. Be renewed. Relax. Be refreshed.