I love the sounds of summer. I find it easier to get out of bed in the morning when the sun is beaming through my open window, allowing me to hear sparrows chirping wildly and the warm breeze rustling new leaves. Soon after I rise, I can often hear kids giggling in the distance, sprinklers pumping cold water onto thirsty soil, dogs barking, and the neighbor's phone ringing through open windows. But the sound that announces summer's arrival the loudest is the productive hum of the lawnmower. It seems that this fresh background melody plays most mornings, afternoons, and evenings on clear summer days - sometimes loudly, other times just a faint whisper in the distance.
This month, give meaning to this symphony by organizing your small group to mow lawns on a bright summer Saturday. Obtain a flatbed trailer or a couple of trucks and load up several lawnmowers, plenty of gasoline, and your small group members. (Remember: Many hands make light work.) Begin by pulling up to the homes of people you know from church or another small group. As one person rings the doorbell have others start up the lawnmowers. It's hard to refuse the offer of a free lawn mowing when the engines are running! Remember to bring your own large garbage bags for the grass and have an extra truck to collect them. Next, visit the homes of those for whom your small group has been praying. If their lawn is in need of mowing, ring the doorbell and start the engines. As your group gets into the routine, look for homes where the grass is tall and in desperate need of a cut. Again, ring the doorbell, start the engines, and explain that your small group is performing a community lawn mowing outreach. Finish the day with a BBQ at a member's home or in the park. Pray for the people whose lives were touched by your work. Ask that God would add His words of love to the music of a lawnmower whenever they hear one this summer.
