Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
5 6 2026
If It Never Ends, It’s Not a Season – A Different Summer Starts Now
There’s something about summer that makes you think life will slow down. Longer days. Lighter schedules. More space to breathe. But if you’re honest, it rarely works that way.
You don’t plan your summer—you drift into it.
And before you know it, August shows up, and you’re asking,
“Where did it go?” I’ve lived that.
There was a season in my life where I hit the wall…hard.
Burned out. Running on empty. Trying to push through like nothing was wrong.
And I paid for it… not just physically, but relationally.
Look, truthfully, you can be present in body and absent in every other way.
And the people who feel that the most?
The ones sitting closest to you. Scripture speaks into this more than we realize.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…” — Ephesians 5:15–16
Making the most of every opportunity doesn’t mean doing more.
It means being more present in what actually matters.
And time… it doesn’t wait.
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12
That verse hits different when you realize your “days” aren’t just numbers—
they’re moments you don’t get back…Summers included.
We convince ourselves we’re in a “busy season.”
But if that season has no end date… it’s not a season anymore.
It’s a pattern. And patterns, left unchecked, quietly become your life. Before you know it their grown… off to college… moving out… married and moving to another state. WHAT? Where did the time go. I remember when I bounced them on my knee.
That’s why this matters more than just a schedule tweak.
This is about a pattern interrupt. Even Jesus stepped away.
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” — Mark 6:31
If He made space to rest… what makes us think we don’t need to?
Somewhere along the way, we started believing exhaustion equals effectiveness.
Like burnout is proof we’re doing something important. Really?
But let me ask you something honestly…
since when did being worn out become the goal?
God never asked you to run yourself into the ground.
He asked you to walk with Him.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10
Stillness isn’t weakness…It’s alignment. And here’s what I’ve learned the hard way:
When you take care of your soul, your capacity doesn’t shrink…
it actually grows.
You show up better.
You love better.
You lead better.
You live better.
So now, with summer right in front of you, here’s the real question:
What’s going to be different this time? Not what you hope will change…
What are you actually going to change?
Because time will keep moving.
Your kids will keep growing.
And next year will come faster than you think.
But this summer doesn’t need to be perfect.
It just needs to be intentional.
Because the moments, you’re too busy to notice today…
are the ones you’ll wish you could get back tomorrow.
This summer, you still have a say in that.
- Where have I been physically present but emotionally or mentally absent with the people who matter most?
- What is one pattern I need to interrupt now so I don’t repeat the same summer again?
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Sarah Groves Somethings Changed
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