My son used to sleep beautifully. He would wake up around 7:15 and our morning would begin. Before that I could sneak in some quiet time, rest with God, the Bible and prayer. Lately he’s been getting up earlier and earlier. Now at 5:30 he runs down the hall, throws the door open and declares it’s time to get up.
It’s insanity.
I cannot stop it. His inner clock is apparently set to this time. I’ve tried putting him back to bed, encouraging quiet play and saying straight up that we don’t get up at the horrid hour of 5:30. He doesn’t care. He thinks it’s funny and wants family time. We must all be together, reading and playing. We must all enjoy each other. I blame school. I think he misses the time we used to spend together so he wants to cram it all in before he heads off to play with his friends.
I really can’t complain about that. It’s love and he’s adorable even when I’m dragging my sad, stiff body out of bed to play with Mike and Sully on a hard cold floor. What I have been struggling with however is my loss of quiet time. I had a nice little routine going. More time with God, reading the Bible and prayer is good for the soul. I don’t want to give it up and I haven’t. Here’s how I’ve been coping through this change:
- First and foremost I shoot off a prayer first thing even if it’s only a line long. This morning it was a simple – I’m sorry this prayer sucks God but I’m being dragged off and I want to connect with you even if it’s just for a moment. These can be surprisingly connective and a reminder that later in the day one needs to sit down and really settle into prayer.
- After this if I can’t set aside a huge chunk of time I steal moments. I try to cover the important things in segments throughout the day. If I go to bed knowing that at some point I have given thanks, turned over my needs, prayed for others, lived in relationship with God and tried to centre my life around Jesus and his teachings I feel like I’ve accomplished something even if it was short bursts throughout the day. Never underestimate the power of a short burst at your desk, while washing your dishes or even during your morning shower.
- My Bible App and I are best friends. While I love a solid paper version of the Bible there is something to be said for the Bible apps you can find. YouVersion always pops up with a verse of the day for those days that you are really crunched for time. There are plans and read throughs which can be long or short depending on your preference. Having a daily schedule is helpful and if you fall behind there’s a catch up feature which is grace in iPad form that’s totally free.
- Last but not least I cut myself some slack and remember that if things don’t work out today, they will tomorrow. The most important part of putting God first is recognizing that some days I will fail and failure once doesn’t mean I have to give up. There’s always tomorrow.
Why am I telling you this? Well, sometimes we all need a reminder that life happens. Some seasons are busier than others and our relationship with God may look different during those seasons. The important piece is that we maintain that relationship and fight for those moments throughout the day where we connect and engage.
Whether you’re able to give it a full hour in the morning or at night, brief snatches of time throughout the day or something in between it’s all good. Just keep doing what you can. Because some seasons are insane. Some days are long and busy but when you squeeze God in the mix you’ll find the day runs smoother and your faith will grow. It’s crazy here right now but that doesn’t mean I have to cut my personal time. It just looks a little different than it used to and different isn’t bad, it’s just different.
