One Slow Morning

I got off to a slow start one morning recently. It felt so good laying in those comfortable blankets with my head smashed down into my pillow, dreams still floating through my brain. I did not want it to end.

At this stage of my life I have the luxury of getting to stay in bed as long as I want. That particular morning I chose to stay there.  When I got up I sent a text to my daughter to tell her I'd be a little late showing up to babysit. After that I started putting a puzzle together while my Keurig was drizzling hot coffee into my Starbucks mug. I got so engrossed in the puzzle I decided I had to finish it, so more time wasted.

Or was it wasted? I kept thinking of all the things I could have done. If I'd gotten up at 6 and gone straight to my computer I could have gotten my proposal for my book done and I could have sent it in; something I should have done a long time ago. I could have written another blog. I could have loaded the dishwasher. So many "I-could-haves"! I was starting to feel guilty; enough so, I actually caught myself asking God to forgive me.

That's what made me stop and reconsider the whole morning. My God is bigger than all of this. He is bigger than my weaknesses and my frailties. He knows that we humans are "but dust" and need help continually.

And because He knows that, He is continually at work in the midst of our individual messes. This is not to give an excuse to laziness. But perhaps God wanted me to start slow that morning and reflect on Him and just simply relax in His Presence. Maybe He had some particular work He needed to do deep inside of me while I was putting that puzzle together and listening to my coffee drizzle down.

Later as I sat thinking back over my morning I caught myself smiling. Almost laughing actually. I was filled with such a powerful sense of His Presence. Calm and joy and peace had washed over my soul.

This is what He wants to do in me much more often than I let Him. He is so good and He loves his little children so much. He longs for us to just look into His face and receive that love. He wants us to stop trying to earn it.

Let's learn how to simply be with Him.

I had planned on babysitting my grandkids that day and was trying to figure out how I could get a lot of other work done while they were with me. But that changed. Instead I was filled with joy that I got to be with them. My new plan was to simply enjoy them. To listen to them, to watch them play, to take walks with them, to play with them, to read to them. I looked forward to that time with joy in my heart.

Isn't this what God wants for us too? He wants to be with us and to enjoy us, but we're so often too busy looking in every other direction but at Him. After all, we have such important things to do, right?

Consider this familiar story from the Gospel of Luke:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38‭-‬42)

Jesus gently rebuked Martha, telling her she was “anxious and troubled about many things”. Mary chose to simple sit at Jesus feet and listen; to truly be in His Presence even though there was work to be done. Jesus commends her.

Jesus, teach me to truly look at you and to learn to simply be with you. Teach me to enjoy you. To drink in all that you have for me.