Peace and Quiet

For a couple weeks now, I have had my alarm set for 6am. I have been hoping to get up before Oscar so I could grab some quiet time at the beginning of the day. In the past I have found that if I start my day this way, it usually turns out better. Not everyone has this result. But it's true for me.

And for the past couple weeks, Oscar has either been awake minutes after the alarm, or I just turned it off and rolled over. Follow through is not exactly my strong point. Until this morning, albeit with a little help.

Jerry has also been wanting to get up early to take Krusty for morning walks. Today. he managed to throw himself out of bed and get going! It doesn't hurt that Oscar is sleeping later due to the time change, but we're going with it. I figured, if Jerry can do it so can I! I pre-loaded the coffee last night so that was already going. Oscar was quiet as a mouse and Jerry was out with the dog.

I got up, poured my coffee and sat in the sweet stillness of an empty living room. Now, usually when I try to read the Bible I find myself getting bored and wondering just how long this chapter is anyway! I mean, let's be honest. But today was different. I read a few verses, and then a few more. Then moved to Proverbs. Then I read the sidebar which led me to several more verses. It felt good and I was comforted by my lack of boredom.

All of this to say that I am still having a bit of a rough morning.

No, 20 minutes of Bible reading didn't solve the world's problems. But I think it helped me today. Significantly. And if I can keep it up, maybe tomorrow will be even better and my reactions to everyday frustrations will be a little less shrill. I'll keep you posted.