Delights, (and sorrowful drawbacks) of the Australian Summer!

Delighting in Summer can be easy on one hand, and sorrowfully difficult on another.  My heart and prayers go out (in spiritual express post) to the families and communities who have lost loved ones, and homes in the Victorian bushfires.  Every Australian fears this at one time or another during our long relentless summers, I am so sorry for those who have experienced this recent tragedy.  All I can make of this is that we live in a fallen world where God allows things to go horribly wrong sometimes...

I feel reluctant now to relish the delights of Summer, but here goes...

I have delighted in receiving handmade cardboard fans given to me by my children;

By making the best of scorching afternoons when all you can do is sit down and delight your mind with episodes of BBC classics;

Summer produce, like large, home grown curly lebanese cucumbers, lemons, cherry tomatoes, and very ripe bananas - which are just begging to be made into banana cake! 

I take delight in long, lazy dinners outside with chilled juice, fresh salad, brown rice, and spicy baked chicken cutlets.

I hope to not trivialise the tragedy sweeping through our sunburnt country at the moment.  When I began writing this post I was only thinking about the delightful side of Summer, but upon hearing the latest death toll and devastation report today I/we are forced to also reflect on the sorrowful drawbacks of Summer.

God bless all who have been involved.  Victoms, their families, the fire fighters, the servants and the heros.

Shell xx