9/1/10

mmm joy comes in the morning


What is it about the morning that is so incredibly enchanting?

I'm not talking about that groggy-and-half-asleep-roll-over-to-hit-the-snooze-button feeling. Negative. The snooze-button people: We hit snooze until the very last minute (I've had days where I hit it for almost an hour), only to have to rush to get ready for our day, and the entire time we're getting ready we're usually thinking "I really don't want to go to work today. Can't I just sleep... all day?"
Someone please tell me you know what I'm talking about.
It's not like I'm a total pessimist - I can usually take a pretty good outlook on my day regardless of the responsibilities I have that I'd really rather just bluff on. I don't walk around hating life because I had to get out of bed.

But I think that we, as the snooze-button people, are missing out on something. Growing up, I was always so baffled by my mom's commitment to waking way before Lesley and I for, get this - quiet time. I can't imagine forcing myself out of bed for something like quiet time. I tend to only be able to get up before the sun when it's imperative. But how rewarding it is when we do.

It's that time of the day where there is just a stillness. No hustle and bustle, no obligations -the time of the day dedicated just to meditating, thinking, pondering, reflecting.... This morning I had that "imperative" motivation to wake up at 5 - to catch the 8:30 ferry to Nanaimo for Riley's fam-jam. And following, I had 4 hours of travel to do all those things my mom does every single morning. And I realized how amazing it would be if I could get myself up every day... just for me time.

I don't know what it is about the morning. If it's the way the rising sun looks striking your window, the hush of the world around you, or the fact that you have a new beginning. There is a verse in Lamentations that says "Great is Your faithfulness. Your mercies begin afresh each day" (3:23) and I love that so much. The morning is a time of peace but it's also a time of hope. It's probably a combination of both that make it such a romantic time of day between Him and I. Could that feeling I have right now motivate me to get up a few hours earlier every day? I'm thinking no. But it would be nice, wouldn't it?