It is Time to Taste and See

It is the first day of June, and I can feel spring rolling into summer.

The air seems heavier, the sunlight more sharp. Afternoon thunderstorms pop like fireworks: quick and fierce and gone in a blink.

The seasons for watching and waiting, planting and hoping have been fulfilled, and their fulfillment tastes like warm strawberries, cold lemonade, peppery basil on the pizzas we make each and every Friday night.

In fact, I am typing this out quickly before dashing to the Saturday farmer’s market. I think strawberry shortcakes are the priority for today and supermarket berries are hopeless. In June, only local and just-picked will do.

They are as fleeting as a summer storm but so much sweeter.

Taste them while you can.

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We can become so accustomed to cultivating–by which I mean accustomed to planning and preparing–that we forget to harvest. We neglect to reap the goodness we have sown (even if our sowing was little more than our anticipation).

Whether we tended the strawberry plants ourselves, or merely looked forward to them through the long months of winter, now is the time.

Now is the time to taste and see.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:8

God’s goodness is all around us. This is always true, but in June it is tangible in very particular and very wonderful ways.

If you need a little nudge toward tasting and seeing today, I suggest:

My favorite recipe for strawberry shortcakes.

Make delicious strawberry jam with little or no sugar with this secret ingredient.

Or these simple-to-make and visually stunning summer feasts.

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Happy June, friends. Tell me, how do you taste and see God’s goodness in June?