Waking up early has become a new source of balance and peace for me. While I haven’t fully incorporated early mornings in to my routine, I have recently come to recognize their value. Training for the marathon started the whole thing, but then I found on a couple of mornings when the others bailed, that I was able to get some really good writing done before the sun came up.
In Knit Together, Debbie Macomber, says that she starts every day at 4:30 in the morning with a devotional time and then time for journaling and praying. When I read this, I was astounded. Every day? 4:30? How in the world does someone start their day like this? Of course, I know others who do it, but it sounded completely ridiculous to me. I should have known then that God was calling me to do this ridiculous thing.
It’s awesome to get the run for the day out of the way bright and early after you’re fully rested, but I’ve found it an even better time for reading, reflecting and writing. (honestly, I can’t believe I’m saying this right now) Without work, phone calls, text messages and other crap floating around in your brain, it really creates a powerful start to the day. When I did this, I found that I was far more intentional with how I spent my time throughout the day, accomplishing stuff that I needed to get done rather than just passing the time.
It helped me to feel centered and in touch with God in a way that I’ve never regularly felt before. Just a few moments, dedicated to him, at the beginning of my day was such a break from my normal toes meet floor meet toothbrush meet shower routine that had me on the run from the second my eyes opened over day that I fell in love with it.
My day to day routines have changed though since I fell in love with it, and I’m not doing a great job at it but I hope to as the year progresses and my life settles down a little bit. For those of you who haven’t tried it though, I would encourage you to set your clock an hour early one day a week. Get up, read some sort of motivational/inspired reading, reflect a little bit on it, make a few notes and then take a few moments to think about what you need to accomplish that day.
p.s. As I post this, I just came in from an early morning and truly feel like I just gave myself a gift. It's weird but I hope you find the same thing when you give it a shot!
Wow, Lindsey. I am so envious of people who start their day off that way. I wish I had the will power to do that. I am much more of a late night person and perhaps the answer is for me to make time for devotion in the evenings.
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