It’s Saturday morning, and of all the days to wake up before the alarm, today my eyes popped open at 6:00am! Not the groggy, half-opened squint that normally gives me a quick glimpse at the clock before I roll over into yet another crazy dream. No. This morning I think God kicked me out of bed! It was as though He said “Come on! I’m ready to do that morning walk we’ve been talking about for weeks!”
This isn’t the first time He has not-so-gently ‘nudged’ me out of a sound sleep. There are times when I struggle to get myself up just an hour early to have some peaceful, uninterrupted time of journaling and prayer before the craziness of my day begins. Oh what a battle that is! You’d think it would be an easy choice, right? Let’s see… which will it be ~ an hour spent in one-on-one, face-to-face conversation with the Creator of the Universe (Who, by the way, is waiting for me to show up!) or an extra hour of sleep? Which is really going to refresh me more?
Every so-often, God reaches down and resolves the dilemma before my semi-conscious wrestling match even begins. He kicks me out of bed! Not literally of course, but it’s just as though He interrupts my sleep with a loud “WAKE UP!” And “Pop” ~ my eyes are open! 5:00am ~ 6:00am, it doesn’t matter. I am completely awake. It’s kind of like that sleep aid commercial on TV where an attractive woman bounces up in bed with a bright, cheery smile on her face ~ eyes wide open ~ all of her makeup in place as though she hadn’t moved a muscle all night! I’ve always thought, “Who in the world wakes up like that?!?” Well, minus the stupid smile and the model-perfect makeup, that’s pretty much me when God decides it’s time for me to start doing something that we’ve talked about for weeks, or months or sometimes even years!
Today was one of those days. God kicked me out of bed for my first early morning, one-mile walk. And I so need to exercise! Remember the Italy trip I wrote about two months ago? Before we ever left home, I had already gained 5 pounds while trying to be so careful not to gain an ounce. Ok ~ I admit it ~ I’m a stress eater! All that planning and anticipation got the best of me! And needless to say, in Italy you don’t watch your calories! I came home with another 5 pounds of the best gelato, pasta and cappuccino in the world! That’s right ~ 10 pounds in just 2 short months! YIKES!
So I’ve been talking to God a lot these last few weeks about getting back into walking. It is a bit of a challenge for me though, because 6 months before our Italy trip I sprained my ankle so badly (walking the dog, I might add!) that I had to have surgery. And I’m nursing torn cartilage in my knee as well. But, with the help of pricey orthopedic knee and ankle braces, plus a good dose of steroids, I walked my little feet off in Italy! Surely I can do it here where there are far fewer hills and no ancient staircases! In my life coaching practice, I work with people to help them live “intentional” lives ~ choosing to do the things that will bring them more joy, peace or health ~ or even bring them closer to God. I coach them to live an “on-purpose” life! So now it’s my turn to practice what I coach! And the fact is, once I “decide” to get out (or get kicked out) of bed, I love walking!
This morning for example, as I wandered through my neighborhood before most of its inhabitants were even out of bed, I was serenaded by a symphony of morning doves cooing, whippoorwills calling out to each other in their distinctive melody, and one unknown bird that seemed to sing “birdie – birdie – birdie”! From tree to tree and housetop to housetop, they all respond to each other’s call, until it sounds like a fully orchestrated praise chorus, singing “Good Morning God! Here we are, doing exactly what You created us to do! Hope You’re pleased!”
As I walked in the cool morning air I thought, “God, thank You for this beautiful place!” I’ve lived in North Georgia for almost 13 years now, and I’m still in awe of the giant trees towering over the housetops ~ some twice as high as the huge two and a half story houses down the street. And the colors ~ God’s artistic hand painting so many different shades of green, pink, and red! I sat on the porch and caught my breath after my walk with the sweet smell of Gardenia filling the air, almost as though a bottle of ‘Jungle Gardenia’ perfume had been poured out right in front of me!
I sat enjoying the fragrance, the refreshing soft breeze, the “music” of nature. As I thanked God again for the magnificence of the home He gave us, a question came to my mind. “God, if You knew that humans were going to be so rebellious, causing You so much sadness and pain, would You have given us such an amazingly beautiful place?” Then, as if God had whispered directly in my ear, I realized ~ He did know!
Before He said “Let there be light” or breathed the first breath of life into Adam, He knew mankind would rebel against Him by saying, “No! I want to do it my way!” He knew Adam and Eve, in their desire to “be like God”, would disobey. He knew the Israelites would turn their backs on Him over and over and over again. He knew they would sacrifice their own children to false gods! He knew that millions of Jews would be killed in the holocaust, and that we’d be murdering millions of unborn babies and calling it a “choice”. He knew we’d be ignoring hunger while we live in plenty. And He knew we would spit in the face of His Son ~ that we would mock, torture, and murder Jesus when He came to rescue us from our own rebellion! And yet, God chose to create this place ~ this magnificent place ~ and breathe His very life and image into us! Why God? Why did You even want us to exist, knowing we would turn from You over and over again?
I don’t know the answer to that question, but I am convinced it must have something to do with relationship. God values relationship! He created us to “be” with Him. Even His very being ~ 3 Persons in One ~ is a continuous, eternal relationship. No wonder tearing marriages & families apart is one of Satan’s fiercest tools of destruction! God is crazy about us! Why would He have created this incredibly exquisite temporary home for us if He wasn’t? He would not have sent His Son to take the sentence for our crimes if He didn’t love us in a way that defies comprehension. It’s all about relationship! Right from the start He desired to have a “love affair” with the people He created. We keep running away, but He keeps wooing us back!
And every so often He reaches down from heaven like He did today, kicks us out of bed and says, “Come on, let’s take a walk. I want to talk with you this morning!”