I love my Mornings

There is magic in the mornings.
The tired of yesterday is gone and today lies ready and waiting at my feet, to see where I will take it.

I jump out of bed (I’m not one for falling back to sleep once I’m up…the day is waiting, let’s DO THIS), head to the little girls’ room to pull my unruly hair out of my face (try not to look too hard in the mirror…never like what I see in the morning), take my vitamins (ugh, swallowing pills), do my blood sugar (yes, it’s like spinning the “Wheel of Fortune”…”Come on good blood sugar…COME ON!”) and then off to the kitchen for a hot cup of coffee (with sugar-free hazelnut creamer and splenda…I know, I know, switching to Stevia once I’ve used the two expensive bags of Splenda in my pantry…sigh).  I grab a breakfast bar (or if I’m lucky, one of my fabulous homemade granola bars…always an extra special treat in the AM) to tie me over till the kids wake for real breakfast, give the kitties a ‘hello’ and some ‘chow’ and then hop back into bed with my Bible and Highlighter to officially start my day and ask God to tell me where to take it!

Life is good.  I hear this a lot and have to agree.  It is hard not to compare my life to others however, though I consciously fight against it.  As a family, we’ve never been on a vacation (not even a honeymoon…yet), we don’t splurge on boats, snow machines, cabins or even dinner’s out (very often) and ‘time off’ around here for both Ron and I is hard to come by.  Even if we do have ‘time off’ we fill it with work (housework, sewing, baking, creating…).  So as God promised in Genesis, the work is never-ending, we have to work to survive.  However we have been given rest in ways some might overlook and in ways that no vacation could ever offer up.
I often find myself singing “It is well with my soul” or “One day at a time” (always going back to the songs I remember as a child) in the shower, while doing dishes, cooking, cleaning, etc.  I’ll be singing at the top of my lungs without paying much attention at all (until I notice my girls joining in…or covering their ears…depends on their attitude at that moment)!
THIS is it.  THIS is the rest, the peace I cherish and need each day to get through.  God promises to give us rest and some may look at my life and wonder if we ever ‘rest’, but I can assure you, it is not bound to the night, it is experienced all day (even amidst the madness)!

Ah yes… as I type this I can hear the rustling of little one’s blankets on the baby monitor and the hushed whispers of little girls, (the girls had a ‘sleepover’ last night…Maddie in the trundle of Olivia’s bed…I love these times) and I know my morning is about to officially begin.  The magic hasn’t ended however, in fact it’s only just begun.  In a moment a three-year old with smiling eyes and wild, tousled curls will come bounding into my room (and onto my lap) for some lovins’.  She will tell me she loves me and snuggle into my neck with a smile.  Magic.
Shortly thereafter a tired, stretching, lumbering 7-year old will manage to muster a smile (with teasing eyes and overly exaggerated ‘sleepy face’) and giggle when I kiss her on the forehead and call her “my baby”.  Magic.

Thank you Lord for the magic found in each moment of this life you gave!
I pray that each breath I take, is not wasted, that each moment you give me will be used to its fullest, starting with this moment right now.