beWARM

Procrastination is a characteristic of mine that I am not particularly proud of.

The morning went something like this:

(Upon awakening)  Wow!  I have almost 3 hours until rehearsal.  I can get in some quiet time, exercise, and catch up on a few chores before leaving the house.

(After coffee and my husband leaving for work) I’ll just get the kitchen cleaned up before I sit down with my devotional. Then my mind will be  more settled.

(Kitchen in state of  partial clean up, glancing at the fireplace) Boy, that  wind was fierce yesterday! I had better clean out the fireplaces and close the flues.

(On the way to get the ash bucket, looking at the  the dining room mirror)  Oh my, I could get rid of those nasty streaks with my new Mystic Maid cloth that a friend gave me!  She says it works like a charm.

(Admiring the crystal clear glass)  Amazing!!!  It won’t take too long to wipe off all of the other glass surfaces in the house.

(Parts of the house, newly sparkled)  Hey, why not try this on the piano!  After all, the tuner is coming this afternoon – and he really wouldn’t want to look at  3 days of dust, would he?

(Looking at the clock)  Let’s see…that only took 1 hour.  I still have time to vacuum out the fireplaces, and do the floors, too.

(Taking the bag of ashes down to the trash)  While in de-cluttering mode, I might as well get rid of the mountain of recycling in the garage.  I can’t stand looking at it any longer! I can take it all to the dump on the way to rehearsal.

(After loading up the car)  I had better hustle if I want to squeeze in some prayer time.   But oops, I forgot I was supposed to copy that music for rehearsal!  

(Abandoning the copy attempts – machine not cooperating) I really should send those emails before heading out.

(Finishing emails, and refraining from attempting to get to the next level on Candy Crush) I’ll have just enough time to get a quick shower.

Then…the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer walloped me right between the eyes.  I subscribed to his email Devotional, shortly after Lent began.

And here are his words:

Prayer offered in early morning is decisive for the day. The wasted time we are ashamed of, the temptations we succumb to, the weakness and discouragement in our work, the disorder and lack of discipline in our thinking and in our dealings with other people – all these very frequently have their cause in our neglect of morning prayer. The ordering and scheduling of our time will become more secure when it comes from prayer.

It was then that I knew that every bit of my frantic “doing” did not clear my mind in the least.  And the smear-free mirrors and pristine piano lid matter little in the big picture.

They certainly did not help the day to unfold in a more orderly fashion, either…and  all the while, my guilt kept increasing.

I regretfully admit that as I piled on chores, the opportunity to spend time with God dwindled away to nothing.

And I’m sure this preoccupation must  have disappointed Him. And, no doubt, He sees through my flimsy excuses.

My “spin-cycle” morning finally stopped when it pointed in the right direction: toward God, and the need to put Him at the top of the list – with no excuses or distractions.

Tomorrow is a new day;  my quiet time will come first.

Then, with a prayer and peace-filled heart, the day can begin.

O Lord, hear me as I pray;
    pay attention to my groaning.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
    for I pray to no one but you.
 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
    Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.  ~Psalm 5:1-3