I went to the nursing home in Sundance the other day to visit a few Hulettites. As I mentioned to one young man, 96, how summer is upon us I looked out his window into the courtyard and there it was. Snow was coming down. Snow is nothing unusual for the third week in May around here, but snow or no snow, summer is here! And, just like a stick of dynamite, summer will be gone, very, very quickly.
Hulett has a seasonal economy and way of life. For those who work the land, summer is a time of calving, branding, fencing, moving cattle, and harvesting hay. In the good years (i.e. wet), ranchers spend all of their time gathering as much hay as possible because it grows so abundantly and they feel wrong to leave any left behind. In the bad years (i.e. drought), ranchers spend all of their time moving cattle to any and every available pasture within 200 miles and making hay on any and every neighbor’s field that might have enough to cut. Drying hay is not a problem in a drought, but ranchers often work extra hours at night to avoid starting a fire in the dusty, sunbaked fields.
For those who do not work the land, summer is a time for teachers to migrate out of the area and school kids to work in seasonal jobs on ranches, mowing lawns, or working in the tourism industry. With 400 thousand plus travelers coming through the area to see Devils Tower, there are too many jobs available for everyone at local campgrounds, souvenir shops, hotels, and diners. Along with the school kids, adults in the area usually work extra hours at these same establishments because the tourism only lasts a few, short months and then all of the jobs, and pay, disappear.
For those who have more regular employment, at the bank, the grocery store, gas station, or service trades, extra hours are needed, just to keep up with everybody else. And I am no different, I like to garden in my spare time, my wife wants to camp, my kids have all taken turns mowing lawns in town. All of this is added to my regular church ministries like nursing home visits, Sunday worship, kids programs, summer camp, tourist outreach, the Sturgis motorcycle rally, and planning and preparations for fall ministries.
So, if you ask me what summer is like in Hulett, Wyoming, I will tell you it is like a stick of dynamite. It takes a while for summer to come around. January through April is like waiting as the fuse burns short. And then, when summer finally comes, with or without snow in May, you gotta go fast to keep up. When summer hits, it hits with a “Kaboom!” like a stick of dynamite exploding. Summer only lasts for a moment … and then it is gone.
If you plan on spending a few short months in Hulett, Wyoming this summer, I have a word of advice for you as you work so hard to keep up with the explosion going on around you. Worship Jesus, not that stick of dynamite. Spend minutes every day and hours every week with Him. Summer has a power about it that lasts for a moment and disappears, but Jesus’ power is forever and ever.
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord…that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection…” Philippians 3:8, 10.