The Last Day of the Year

The last morning of 2010 found me waking before the rest of my family feeling rested.  I plugged in the Christmas tree to enjoy its light one more morning (okay, I'll probably still have it up for a couple  more days) and sat down to read in quiet.  How often does that happen?  Not often.  But I have just been thinking that it is time to resume the old habit and discipline of waking early before I have to start my day to spend time with the Lord reading His Word.  


I never thought that would be a discipline I would have to reteach myself.  It was a habit all through college and the first two years of marriage.  Then what happened?  I had a baby.  The time I used to organize according to my wishes only became the property of Ella's needs, and she needed me a lot.  She needed me most of the time between the hours of 10 p.m. to 5 in the morning.  My habits changed completely then.  There would be the occasional morning of waking before her and having a quiet time but nothing regular.  Young mothers everywhere can attest to the fact that when your baby is sleeping you are sleeping.  KJ and I haven't used an alarm clock in 4  years.  We simply wake when the children wake.  


Reading the Bible became more regular when Ella got older and became a more dependable sleeper, but I did my reading during Sesame Street.  My quiet times have been done to the tune of preschool programming for a while now.  And then of course, last year, with the advent of James, I resumed the old habit of sleeping until I heard a baby's cry.  But this is a new year.  Both of my children sleep reliably.  It is now 8:05, and they are still asleep.  James is stirring, but I have already had over an hour in the living room by myself.  


I read in Leviticus (very exciting) and then opened up two books my brother and sister-in-law gave me for Christmas.  One book is filled with prayers for my husband, and the other contains prayers for children.  They are all based on passages from God's Word, and I had such a sweet time remembering the purpose for which I have been created and my sacred duties as a wife and mother.  It is such a sweet thing to care for and love the family God has so graciously given me.  The sweetness of it is not often in the forefront of my mind.  Most recently, my days are spent just trying to keep James from accidentally killing himself.  It's really quite a stressful experience.  My boy hardly ever sits still and loves to climb on beds, chairs, stools, and stairs and under tables.  His escapades keep my heart pumping and my feet moving.  But it is so nice to start my day in the quiet, centering my heart and mind on truth.  

"Children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward."  I'm so thankful for my two precious children.  "There's no work more complex, more important, or more exalted than that of caring for children.  After all, it's what God Himself has chosen, above all else, to do with His time." 


I want to be a good steward of the time I have with my children this year.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity I've had to be with them every day.  I don't want to squander that privilege but teach truth to them as we "sit in the house" and when we "walk by the way," and "when we lie down, and when we rise."  Ella will turn 5 towards the end of 2011.  The early, formative years with her are almost at an end.  Babyhood is gone, the toddler stage is over, her preschool years are almost behind her.  I want to be so purposeful with her in the coming year.  

In order to be purposeful, I think it's time I re-discipline myself to go to bed earlier so that I can "rise while it is yet night" and prepare for the day.  I like new beginnings, don't you?