Morning: There Is A Time

Once I'm up, I'm up for the day.  Which makes mornings enjoyable for me.  I like having time to shower, fix my brown bag lunch, get dressed, read the news, do a little studying-- all before I leave the house for what is most usually a 13 hour long day.  Some days I get up even earlier to head to the gym and squeeze in (literally) a workout, because if I didn't, I would (literally) not have time that day.  Some days I don't use my morning time as wisely as I should -- I watch the latest episode of one of my shows instead of studying or catching up on the news.  But then again, I don't have time to watch these shows anytime else that day.  And although the rule of 'once I'm up, I'm up for the day' applies to me, sometimes the act of getting up can be difficult.  Particularly when I don't have enough sleep from the night before.  And as a result, sometimes my morning time is cut short drastically; leaving me feeling rushed the entire rest of the day because I didn't get my few moments first thing to center, organize my thoughts, and prepare myself for what is to come that day.

But regardless, I always leave the house feeling... Slightly disappointed in myself.  Because I never seem to get around to that morning devotional that I want so badly to start getting in the habit of.  I am always distracted by something else, rushing to finish something else, etc etc.  And it doesn't seem to matter how early I get up -- mornings just don't seem to be a good time for me to get my devotional in! 

So it's clear -- I need to find another time to devote to God.  Lately I can feel myself becoming lax in my devotion to Him.  Which is resulting in a change in my relationship for Him -- I feel... Slightly disconnected.  One of the seven deadly sins is "sloth," and this is a perfect example of why.  Because when you get lazy in your devotion to the one true God, you allow the distractions of the world (and in turn the devil) to get in the way, to gnaw on the lines that you have thrown to God, that eventually sever and fall -- and God becomes a further and further thought.  I think in some senses/situations, being too busy is just as deadly as a sin as sloth is.  Such opposing situations, but that both end in Spiritual illness/death.

Ecclesiastes 3 addresses this conundrum of time.  We need to understand that there is a time for everything, and that we need to carve out time for particular things and not let those activities spill over into another activity's allotted time.  We need to stay focused.  Ecclesiastes 3 also addresses so many other points.  About human happiness, God's sovereignty, and the trials that God gives us.  But today, I need to take the "there is a time for everything" lesson to heart...