Yesterday wasn’t just Father’s Day which can only be celebrated by a certain percentage of society. It was a day that could be celebrated by ALL – it was the first day of summer! It was also National Daylight Appreciation Day, recognizing the day of the year with the longest amount of sunlight in the northern hemisphere.
I wonder if this day, that wonderful first day of summer, has as much significance for those who aren’t connected to schools. Think about it for a moment.
School aged children as well as those who work in the school system have goals that typically center around the days OFF from school. The last day of school heralds the beginning of summer vacation, three months off (technically, 88 days or 2 months, 27 days – but who’s counting?!?) and is appreciated by students and staff alike. I’m not sure who enjoys it the most.
At Bryan Schools, we had early release on the last day of school. From the football field speakers, High School Musical songs were blasting a final message of celebration: We’re All In This Together, Breaking Free, What Time Is It, and a few more. Summer break has begun even though it’s not truly summer yet. Close enough!
Now, if you aren’t associated with the school system, if you aren’t parents, children, or staff, the start of summer is almost a non-event. Today is the same as yesterday and the same as tomorrow. Oh, you might notice it is hotter or that it stays bright outside longer but beyond that, it’s just another day. But will you really notice just how long it stays light outside?
I’m writing this at the beginning of the month so I’m going to hope it is a bright, sunny day for June 21st and that dads will have a beautiful, sunny, and warm Father’s Day. If so, there should have been 15 hours and 10 minutes of sunlight with sunrise being at 6:05 a.m. and sunset being at 9:15 p.m. But here’s a bonus for us. Today through Wednesday are technically the longest days of the year with sunset at 9:16 p.m.1 That means we should have 15 hours and 11 minutes of sunlight today! Why the difference? It has to do with the earth’s axial tilt, the orbit around the sun, and our precise geographic location.
Regardless, welcome to summer!
The second verse of one of our favorite hymns comes to mind when I think about summer.
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Great is thy faithfulness,
Great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hast provided;
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.2
God is faithful no matter which season it is. He was faithful to give us seasons and the weather we needed to thrive and survive. Psalms 74:16-17 says, “The day is thine, the night
also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. (17) Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.”
He is faithful to maintain the light during those necessary seasons. Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
God is faithful to use what we would consider an insignificant pest to teach us the value of summer. Proverbs 6:6-8 and Proverbs 30:25 says, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: (7) Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, (8) Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest…The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.”
Remember today the truth of Ecclesiastes 3:1. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
1https://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp?city_name=Bryan%2C+Ohio%2C+USA&latitude=41.4702&longitude=84.548&latitude_n_s=N&longitude_e_w=W&timezone=-5&dst_type=1&ianatz=America%2FNew_York&btop=&back=USA&month=6&year=2026&time_type=0&wsom=0
2Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Thomas Chisolm, 1923. Music by William Runyan
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