Good Mornings

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love.

For I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go for to you I entrust my life." PSALM 143:8

How do you start your mornings? When I was younger I would lie in bed for as long as I possibly could and snooze my alarm a million times, then I would pride myself on getting ready in the fastest possible time so that I could get out the door and to where I needed to be on time (I hate being late!)

Now, I find myself still dreaming of more and more sleep and so as the sun gradually wakes, three little/big bodies climb into our bed and fight to have 'snuggles' with mum - why never dad? It often ends in me having my arms tangled around my kids, gently stroking them on the arm/back/head (whatever I can manage to reach) whilst refereeing the delicate balance of tension that could erupt any second because someone "pushed me/took the blanket/has more mum". And then when my body has endured enough pushing and shoving we clamber out of bed and begin the morning routine, which is like herding sheep. Literally. I am often sweaty by the time I buckle the kids into the car and this then leads to me always leaving the house inappropriately dressed thinking that it is a smouldering hot day when it is actually overcast and freezing. Ha. In that blur of a morning I have managed to focus on rallying my kids to do all the things that they need to do, ticking off my mental lists, checking bags and packing lunches, persuading my girls to actually brush their hair so that a possum doesn't come to live in their nest of knots, wiping dried toothpaste off faces, drinking multiple coffees and grabbing a banana on my way out the door for my own brekkie. It works and I often feel like a superwoman (because all mums are in the morning!). But in all of this, I haven't had a moment to ground myself on why it is that I do all of this, who it is that I am, and whom it is that actually sustains me.

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love. For I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go for to you I entrust my life."

This verse has become a part of my every morning as it makes me pause for a moment and shift my gaze from down at my to-do lists and up to God.

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love"

We need to know that we are deeply loved and that God's love is unfailing, not based on moods or temperaments or behaviour. It is unfailing, inexhaustable, steadfast, boundless, constant, unrelenting, continual, unceasing. Rom. 8: 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, [39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is something that we need to hear daily so that we know that all of our effort of loving those around us is sustained by a never-ending wellspring of eternal love. (If you need a boppy worship song to get you going in the morning, check out "Your Love Never Fails". Pretty much sings this truth to you!)

"For I have put my trust in you/ for to you I entrust my life."

This is more often than not a prayer than a reality. It is so hard to unclench my own control for how things will be, so this allows me each day to open up my hands and have a moment of surrender/confession and start again.

"Show me the way I should go"

How often do we wish that we had a life guidebook/manual for the choices we need to make or the ways that we should mange certain situations. I regularly forget that Jesus has given me the gift of his Spirit so guide me, prompt me, comfort me, lead me. And this is a gift that lives inside us right now, not tomorrow or when we reach a higher level of perfection! So say good morning to the HS and be reminded that you do have a companion to walk alongside you through your day, showing you the way to go. What an utter relief!!

So friend, write this up on your fridge/mirror/door so that each morning you are prompted to say it - yes, SAY IT - out loud and be grounded in your mind and heart for the rest of your day. And for full disclosure, I often need to read it throughout my day as I have truth dementia.

Erin x