Spare Time

Don’t Just turn to God in your Spare time, Turn to Him First

Mornings are busy around here. Anyone else?

Between getting my own self up and ready and getting 4 little ones out the door, there is little time for anything else.

I know everyone recommends waking up earlier to get more in, but I struggle with that. I already get up early, so the idea of getting up even earlier is daunting.

Embry was sick this morning and Edley doesn’t have school today, so things were a little more manageable. So after sending everyone off, I got to doing what I wanted to do.

And guess what? That did not include anything productive.

I was listening to a podcast and heard the Holy Spirit say, “What about that walk?”

“Okay, but let me get ready first…and get the girls situated…and…”

And then it hit me.

Why do I only give God my spare time? My leftovers? The 5 minutes in the pickup line at school? The few minutes while waiting for church to start?

Wouldn’t I be little ticked if Justin only called me when he was bored or had time to kill? How would I feel if I thought Justin never wanted to sit and just talk with me? Or if he hung up on me because someone more exciting showed up wherever he was?

Yeah. Ouch.

So I put down my phone and called to Indie. I wasn’t sure what to say, but God put a song on my heart and I just sang it. And then my questions for him started to come, my pleas for help, and my gratitude for so many things and people in my life.

And right in the midst of this conversation, I stepped fully into the sun and felt the warmest embrace. And teared up.

When I opened my eyes, there was Indie sitting at my feet waiting for me. She had been running all over before I stopped. I never even heard her come close. This reminded me of what I wrote about the other day - sitting and staying with Jesus. And it moved me. This is not her usual behavior, but on our walks, she is doing this more and more and I see it as a reminder to be a Mary in a Martha world.

Which, let’s be honest, can be really challenging. But it’s worth trying for, right?

And yes, I took a picture because when you feel God’s presence, you kinda want to remember it. (Even though you can’t really forget it, sometimes it’s nice to have a visual on those days it is in the deepest recesses of your mind.)