The Sigh of September

Sep 02 2025 The Sigh of September

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8

September feels like a sigh. Not a hopeless sigh, but the kind that comes when the music dwindles and you know the band is about to pack up. The sun, still golden, begins to sink a little earlier each night. But the air isn’t whispering that it’s time for sweaters and cider, as it might be in your neck of the woods. It stays hot through October where I am in Southern California.

Yet, kids go back to school, and the “feeling” just isn’t the same as it is in late May. Even still, I will squeeze every ounce out of this favorite season of mine.

I confess, I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to summer. I spin her in my mind like a movie reel: long evenings drenched in light, dinners outside where the conversation stretches long, barefoot walks on the sand watching the sunset. Mornings where I linger with tea on the patio, watching the sky change slowly, as though heaven is in no hurry at all (and neither am I).

But reality is less cinematic. The long evenings also bring a new brand of mosquitoes called Ankle Biters. Beach days are spent looking for parking, silly sunburns, and slogging home in traffic. Quiet patio tea-time competes with the sound of the garbage truck or the neighbor’s lawnmower. And reality doesn’t take summer break: the car needs tires, and the washer dies. Illness and injury hang around. Dogs get fleas. Luggage gets lost.

Summer never quite lives up to the unrealistic dream in my head.

However, it’s beautiful still. Perhaps it is more lovely because it’s a mix of dreams and reality.

Every season of life carries this tension—the way we imagine it, and the way it actually is. Marriage, motherhood, ministry, friendships, they all shimmer in our minds with an ideal glow, until we step into the daily-ness (or sometimes the mess) of them. Reality is never as tidy as the romantic vision, but in God’s hands, it is richer. Because His faithfulness threads through both the dreamy and the dusty, the gold and the grit.

Isaiah’s words remind me that while seasons change, whether we welcome or resist their shift, God’s Word and His promises remain unchanged. Summer’s sweetness fades, autumn will come with its own kind of glory, and winter will follow in its quiet way. But through it all, the One who painted the sky in July is the same One who holds the brittle leaves of November.

So, I’ll tuck away the daydream of summer and make the most of its reality and beauty.  I’ll remember the sweet moments (and I’ve enjoyed many!): the ones with family and friends, laughter and delicious food, travel and fun, but also the ones with sweat and bug spray, sadness and chaos. They are all gifts.

I step into September listening to Neil Diamond wax nostalgic about its mornings. I enjoy more coastal escapes and tea on the patio. I wring out these golden days with my Bible in hand, trusting that the God who made each season also knows the season my heart is in. I look forward to baseball playoffs, football games, new starts in ministry, and time with my people.

Yes, the grass will wither, and the flowers will fall, but His Word, His love, and His faithfulness will never fade.