I am not a morning person. I love sleep so much that if I had to choose between an extra twenty minutes of sleep or say, breakfast, it’s safe to say I’d choose sleep every time. I’ve never been one to get up at 5:30am to have “devotional time” or workout. Most days the first form of excersize I get is my thumb swiping and scrolling across my iphone screen.
I stumble downstairs with squinty eyes, pour coffee, get the kids breakfast, and then I mindlessly sip and scroll on my phone until I’m fully awake. Pack lunches. Sip and scroll. Throw on some workout clothes. Sip and scroll. Brush little teeth. Sip and scroll. And so it goes all morning until we all load up and head out for the day to be productive and participate in the real world.
Now, before you roll your eyes and start to think this is going to be another one of those posts all about how social media is “The New Terrible-Awful” and how it’s ruining our lives and rotting our brains, don’t. That’s not where I’m headed. Granted, I think it can all be detrimental if used in excess, but I tend to view social media as simply a tool. It’s all in how you use it.
Yesterday while I was sipping and scrolling I happened to look out my window in time to see the most stunning sunrise. It was wild and vibrant and illuminated, as if God were trying to get my attention to say, “Look. Look what I made for you.”
It stopped me in my tracks. I took this picture and then I put my phone down and went outside on the back porch. It was eerily quiet and still. I just sat there for a moment, feeling the early morning chill and forgetting all of my concerns for the day. It felt somehow cleansing to sit still and watch the sun come up over the mountain and chase the shadows across the field until they disappeared.
I find that my most intimate exchanges with God tend to be in these stolen moments, the in-between times. When it’s a reverent acknowledgement, or a hushed plea for closeness, or even when a simple sunrise takes my breath away.
I have a bad habit of missing these moments.
They are rich and lovely and there for the taking. I need only to show up for them.
* This is Day 4 of a 31 Day series on Keeping It Real. You can find all of the posts in this series here. I hope you follow along and join the conversation! *
Love this! I love how God meets us and gifts us gifts in those in between moments of our day. And you are right. Social media and our phones, while they can be a huge distraction, can also be used for so much good. Playing catch up. I’ve missed a few days. I’ll be back!