For quite some time, it has been my habit to get up early and spend some time with the Lord before the hustle-and-bustle of the day. Because I get up early (sometimes as early as 4:30, other times not until 6:00 or so), I very much enjoy a cup of coffee as I read my Bible and pray. (However, just for the record, I do limit my caffeine intake to that ONE cup.) After my coffee and quiet time, I take my vitamin (SuperMom!) and sometimes a St. John’s Wort capsule, then start drinking my daily quota of water. I find that these things keep my moods relatively stable, my energy up, and my mind fresh.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been hit-or-miss on the morning quiet time. The reasons vary. Mostly I think it’s because Marc has been away on business four days out of the seven, and I typically take advantage of the quiet nights after the kids go to bed to work on various projects. I tend to stay up a bit too late, actually. So my morning wake-up call is usually one of the children, at which point my time with the Lord is distracted at best. Truth be told, it usually doesn’t happen at all, at that point. Of course, we still have morning and evening devotional times as a family–but it’s not the same.
I’ve also gotten more than two-thirds the way through many days lately, only to realize that I have yet to drink a glass of water. Oh, and I haven’t taken my vitamin yet! Breakfast? No, I didn’t eat yet today, either. Hmmm…put all these things together and it’s no wonder that I feel like I’m bouncing from one thing to another, slightly distracted, occasionally irritable, and definitely not at the top of my game.
I recall one day recently when I was more than a little crabby, so my husband went through the checklist with me: “Did you take your vitamin?” (No). “Did you take a happy pill?” (That would be the St. John’s Wort, thanks…NO). “Are you drinking your water?” (NO). “Did you have breakfast?” (Um, NO). At which point he merely raised his eyebrows and kind of smirked, saying, “But I bet you had your coffee. You never forget your coffee.”
And as a friend of mine recently reminded me, we sure do make time for the things that are important. I would say that all of these practical things–and especially the spiritual–ARE important. But I sometimes make half-hearted efforts and excuses when it comes to attending to them as I should.
But, oh, I always do have my morning coffee.
LOL. Well, this is only too timely for me since I JUST pushed send on an email to you whining that I am in one of those “moods”. Great thoughts on getting refocused. Thanks, Cindy!! 🙂