A New Routine

October 28,2018

I know a few other Christians who get up very early every day in order to make time for God.  I look up to these people and have found their example inspiring to me. I found that getting up bright and early (5:30 a.m. – 6 a.m.)  before starting my work day has helped me to develop a consistent routine, which has ultimately helped me to grow in my walk with God.

But things have been different lately.  Due to God leading us to quit our corporate jobs, I’ve been in a new season of having a very different, and a very flexible schedule (most days).  There is still a lot of work to do, but our schedules are not what I am acquainted to. 

We were in the season of finding our tiny house, moving our tiny house, and helping a friend build his house, and waiting on God to tell us next steps to place our tiny house.  It’s about all-things-tiny-house or finding time to do God’s work.  All this being said, these life changes did not lead to a conventional day-to-day routine.  And on top of all this my sleep schedule was WAY off.

I find myself often getting up in the middle of the night, anywhere from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.  At this hour in the morning, clearly there is nothing I can really do, so I read and pray until I’m able to fall back to sleep. This makes it hard to get up consistently around 5:30 – 6:00 a.m. — my old routine, when I was working a conventional job. 

I realize that I am condemning myself for my prayer time and sleep time not being the same as other people who I am inspired by. If anything, I’m up earlier than them reading and praying, but I then go back to bed to catch up on the sleep I did not get during normal sleeping hours.  I was thinking that because I got back to sleep, I’m being lazy, but it’s not being lazy at all. Rather, it’s making sure I get adequate sleep so I will function throughout the day.  It’s making sure I’m being healthy to get the proper rest that my body needs. 

I shouldn’t compare my prayer time, bible time, or any part of my schedule to that of others. I think the main thing God cares about is that I stay discipline in seeking Him first in my heart, no matter what time of the day that is.  Every person’s situation is unique and different. God knows that. It’s ok that my prayer time is different than the average persons.