What I Learned This Summer – 2022

So maybe “What I’ve Learned This Summer” should’ve been written back in August or September. You know, when summer actually ended, instead of when we’re well into fall. But I’m here now and so are you, so there you go.

I love writing. And I miss it. And I don’t know what keeps stopping me. So my goal for the rest of this year is to write at least once a week. God gifted me with words and it’s about dang time I used them again – even if I feel like I’m floundering.

Emily P. Freeman is a writer I love and look up to. I recently started re-listening to her podcast, The Next Right Thing. In Episode 4, she shared her practice of recording and reflecting on what she’s learning in each season of life. So for this week’s commitment to writing more, I’m sharing 3 things I learned this summer.

This Summer – 2022

Overall, we had a good summer. Life with a baby is fun and wonderful and exhausting, but mostly fun and wonderful. People who prayed for our journey with infertility got to meet the baby who was our long-awaited answer to those prayers. We rested. We started getting more involved in our church. And we learned so much about ourselves as people and as parents. 

Recording what God has taught me is refreshing as I reflect back on the last few months of our life. But I’m sure it will also serve as a happy memory when I get to look back, seeing specifically what I learned in the summer of 2022. Here are the most important things I learned this summer.

It’s okay to be honest about your/your family’s needs.

Mine and my husband’s family have always been supportive. In fact, as we transitioned to life with a baby their support was invaluable. So importantly, I learned when asking for and accepting help from others it’s okay to be honest about your needs. 

Sometimes what I needed more than anything was just to take a shower. Sometimes it was more helpful to unload the dishwasher or fold the clothes for me instead of watching the baby so that I could do those things. Meals and putting the baby down for a nap are helpful. Feeding the baby isn’t for me. And as soon as I learned to be honest about those things, everyone around me responded to what I actually needed, instead of what they thought would be most helpful. 

Learning to be honest about my needs (or our family’s or the baby’s) relieved some stress, streamlined communication, and made it so my needs actually got met.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19

Remembering how God has worked in your life really does change your perspective.

This spring, I took my little 3-week-old to a Thursday morning women’s bible study at church since I was still on maternity leave and needed to connect with others. The study was called Remembering Your Joy (and I would highly, highly recommend it). It took us through Old Testament stories that highlighted the joy of the salvation we have in Jesus, through reflections on how each of these foreshadowed what Jesus came to do.

The study culminated in a women’s ministry event this summer where I was asked to speak about my journey through infertility and how remembering the good God had done sustained me through that time. It was so humbling to read back through journal entries and see how God grew my faith in the midst of my grief and ultimately led to the answered prayer and incredible joy of my sweet baby boy. In preparing my testimony for this event, I was reminded of how much perspective matters. 

When my perspective focuses on the good God has done, on his character and his Word and his abundant faithfulness, my hurt and my heart are softened in light of God’s glory and his grace. 

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

Psalm 51:12

You might also like: Be Still and Wait: God will come through

The only person expecting you to have it all together is probably you.

I’m not sure what it really means to “have it all together”. I don’t know that any one of us could agree on a definition. And what I learned this summer is that the only person expecting me to “have it all together” is probably me.

I had the idea this summer that I “should be doing better” now that I’m getting farther and farther away from giving birth. But I’ve been struck recently by the realization that nobody actually said those words to me. Nobody has told me, “You should be doing better.” Not my doctor, not my friends with baby experience, not my husband, not my baby (haha!). Not one person has told me that I should be doing better or have more stuff together by now.

Instead, I’m learning to prioritize what makes me feel the best, what makes my household run the smoothest, and what makes my family happiest. Sometimes that means all the laundry is folded and put away on time. It also means sometimes I take another nap while the laundry sits in the basket. Sometimes that means I fold the laundry instead of taking a nap because my husband feels loved when he sees clean clothes in his closet so he doesn’t have to worry about what to wear.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Colossians 3:17

Read next: Am I Good Enough? YES – and you always have been

Concluding Thoughts

God has gifted me with so much joy. What I’ve learned this summer is just one small sample of that. He’s given me a multitude of opportunities to make mistakes, to learn, and to lean on his grace. I hope this list encourages you. I hope today you have time to reflect on what God is teaching you. But friend, I hope more than anything that you feel surrounded by his love and mercy.

All my love,

Susannah

P.S. Something else exciting I did this summer was open an Etsy shop! Check it out here.