Sleep

Oh how I love to sleep in. I remember before we had kids, a great day began with sleeping in until 10:00 am or so. Of course, now I can't even imagine sleeping in so late. For us, sleeping in is now 7:00 am. Which I'm sure to some, that is definitely not sleeping in. I know at first it was really hard for us to give up the ritual of sleeping in. When Abigail was a baby Andy and I would take turns getting up with her in the morning. She's always been an early riser- so she would wake around 6:oo am, and one of us would get up while the other slept away until around 9:00. Gradually though, things began changing. We both started realizing that we enjoyed that early morning time with our daughter. And then life happened, and Andy's job started having him get up earlier, so without him at home, I had to get up.

Who knew we could end up finding morning such a joyful time. It's amazing how much we've discovered that we can accomplish in the morning hours. We can have our quiet time with God before the bustle of the day. It's early in the day yet, and I already have two loads of laundry finished, and my house is clean from company yesterday. Zander is just coming out of his morning fog, and now that I don't have anything to get done, I can focus on playing with him and having a great time with him today. And wouldn't you know, there is a scripture to go along with the idea of sleeping in.

" Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;
stay awake and you will have food to spare." Proverbs 20:13

Do not love sleep. When you really think about it, of course it makes sense. We have just one lifetime to make a difference, why would we want to spend it in bed asleep? That is such a waste. In the Broadway musical Rent there is a song called "No Day But Today." And taken out of the context it was written for, it's not a bad idea to think on. What if there was no day but today? Would you sleep it away? I think not. Stay awake and be productive, and you will have food to spare. Stay awake and sleep less, and think about how many more opportunities you may have to reach out to someone. How many more opportunities there may be to see your child smile, or how many more opportunities to tell someone you love them. The morning has become a precious time to me, and I take such joy in seeing the world that God created come to life. Stop sleeping. It's a waste of this precious life that God gave us.