You guessed it, I’m a night owl. Sure, I can function early in the morning if I have to, but I’d much prefer the late evening – when my creative juices start flowing.
To tell you the truth, I’m sick and tired of all these people (you may be one of them!) who over-spiritualize the morning. Some of them claim that all the “important” prayers and spiritual moments happen in the early morning.
Are they right?
I think not!
To prove my point, I’ll use the Apostle Paul as an example.
Nick and I just finished reading the book of Acts, and for the very first time I noticed that Paul is known to pull all-nighters. I’m not kidding. According to Acts 20, he preached until midnight – which ended up turning into daybreak. I can just picture him sitting around the kitchen table with the believers in Ephesus. Some of them were probably thinking, “When is he going to shut up. Doesn’t he want to get some sleep?”
I may be partial, but it seems to me that Paul was a night owl. On another occasion, he even stayed up all night in prison – singing instead of sleeping!
Of course, those of you who rise early in the morning will probably claim that Jesus was known to be an early bird. I can’t argue with that one. Maybe the important point is that we need to come to God when we can give him our best – when he can have our full, undivided attention.
So when are you at your best? Morning, noon, or night?
10 comments:
Definitely a morning person (sorry, Susan!) -- but I've been staying up too late lately (watching Mad Men DVDs, not doing anything remotely spiritual!), so now I'm not functioning well in the morning until I have two cups of coffee (thank goodness someone just sent me a Starbucks card!! :)
Ah, I still love you Michelle. Doug is a morning person too! (We need both types!)
It's morning for me before the kids get up. Lately though, I've been getting a little done between 9 and 10 at night but aren't you tired after work and dinner and homework and putting kids to bed?
I'm too exhausted to be a morning or a night person. It used to be that I would read my bible every morning after my shower and before breakfast, but then I had kids. Now the only time I have for reading is during nap time.
Yes -- when we can give Him our best, Susan. I agree.
And I'm a night owl. The problem is, my husband is, too. We're awful for each other. At 11 PM one of us will say, "We could clean out that closet..." and we tackle a big job late at night -- and pay for it the next morning!
Julie,
Here's the answer to the exhaustion question. Yes, I do reach a point of exhaustion. But if I can stay up past 11pm I get that second wind! Not sure that will happen tonight. We'll see!
Funny! I know Sr. Mary Emily. I have long ties with the Dominicans. My grandmother, mother, sisters and daughters have all been taught by them as well as myself at the Academy. We run St. Mary's Bookstore. My 7th grader and 5th grader both have Dominicans this year. Couldn't be luckier. Small world. Second wind? Where do you buy one of those?
Small world indeed!
I think I fall somewhere in the middle, unfortunately, because when I'm at my peak, the rest of the world is rockin' and rollin', too. I try to be a morning person, but sometimes I end up being a night owl in spite of myself. It's all good, because I know God knows how hard I work to have time with Him. :)
I love this - the calling out of some of these assumptions we grew up with! You know what I'm sick of? Is the idea that the best and brightest can pull all-nighters, or go with just a few hours of sleep. Not me, baby. I'm 8 hours all the way. Whenever I can. And, well, I prefer the early morning hours. That means I'm in bed early!
Post a Comment