So Early. Seriously?

Seriously?

Going to bed at 9 PM gets you this, so I suppose it should be no surprise that I am up before the sun. And wide awake, too!  Seven (7) hours is my 'perfect' sleep number, assuming it is good and restful sleep, so these days I have to count backwards and try to figure out when to go to bed in order to achieve a non-alarmed wake up at the appointed time. Actually, that really involves far too much math for me, and last night I was exhausted.

It is nice sometimes to just wake early and listen to God speak in those quiet moments before the day starts getting crazy, and lately, unexpectedly emotional. I like to start my day thanking God for just being in control. Especially where I am right now, it is so comforting to know that I just don't have to know all the answers or know all the plans. It's just too much, too much mind overload at least, to try to figure out the future. Roger would say "one day at a time" anyway. 

Thanking God for the blessings in my life is also a great way to start out the day. Maybe I am writing just so that on sad days, I can go back and read that I believe deep down, that some of these things are what we determine to be...even if sometimes we forget. From the depths of my being, I want to finish this journey on earth as a positive, encouraging, 'fill your bucket' kind of person. Not being an overly emotional being anyway, I just don't want to give in to 'woe is me.'  That is the natural way of 'man' anyway, I think...well, rather, believe. In a way, I am really thankful that God put people in my life all along the way who showed me by example how to get through all kinds of things and still end up smiling. Roger for one, was the ever jolly and positive person. "Jolly Roger" was one of his nicknames and it had absolutely nothing to do with pirates. 

So, in the quiet of this morning, I am reflecting on relatives who from the time I can remember even learning what an aunt or uncle or cousin was, who brought joy and sunshine into the room with them. I am reflecting on childhood friends who were fun to play with because life was simple and we did not have too much to think about other than playing in the sunshine. I am reflecting on high school friends who are still friends today. There was some kind of connection back then that put us together, and 40 some odd years later, we still remain friends. Even when we don't see each other often, it is like a cool, refreshing breeze on a hot sticky day to just see their face! I often wonder if that is not a picture of Heaven...when we see those people again that have been absent in our daily lives for a while.  Then there are the adults who helped to guide us in the days of our youth group. Age being what it is, many of them have finished their earthly journey now and enjoying the glory of Heaven. What examples of how to live a life of faith. I am so thankful to God that He allowed that in my life. And there are those who still remain but are growing frail, but still cheery, and still a blessing in my life. 

But in this earthly journey, though I have been blessed to have been surrounded by people of faith, there are indeed others who are still searching. People are all around us and Roger had a way of just meeting and greeting everyone, far better than I do. If he learned their story, or their journey, so often I would find myself praying for this 'unknown to me' person who was living, enjoying, but really often spiritually existing. We, the two of us, always believed this about people and God, and I am not really sure where we heard it the first time.  If you think about your body as this shell that holds the real you, then think about there being a void inside, make it the shape of your heart if you can visualize that...because without a heart, really, you wouldn't be here. In that heart, the void will be filled with something....so the saying goes something like this....
    " In man, God created a heart shaped void that would be filled with something, so what will it be?" Each man (person) is responsible for filling that void, for it is part of who we are. It is part of that free will that God allows each of us. (This sounds like nonsense if the reader happens to not believe in God, of course)   So, what will fill that void? God would love to be the one to do that, but does not force that issue.  However, that 'troubled spirit" that comes every now and again, is quite possibly God offering a little hint. (In the church world, we call it conviction, which is kind of a heavy word that we don't like to think about, but really....well, food for thought anyway)

And I found myself this morning reflecting on and thanking God for people in my life who were/are adding to the richness of my life even though they don't walk the same path as I have chosen. 

There are all kinds of people who do all kinds of wonderful things in this life. They are fun, they are happy, they love others and help others and are just all around great people and yet might not have filled that void completely. Many do all these things far better than I, and yet in the stillness of the morning still have this unsettling emptiness about life. (And I only know this because it has been shared time and again by various people who have crossed my path)  I believe that I know about that unsettled void.  Sometimes, oh, and especially in America of today...we have so much to distract us from feeling that void. That way, we don't have to face up to this journey we are on, this journey to eternity. We can dismiss it as something to think about for another day, or say that we don't believe all of this God stuff, or that it really does not matter anyway.  Or as Roger did, and showed us daily, we can enjoy this life and what it has to offer, but keep our eyes on eternity and the thought of being in the presence of God because we spent our time here in a relationship with Christ. Roger didn't talk it constantly or preach it loudly, but surely enough, that relationship with Christ was his guiding force through his walk here and I am so thankful to have been a part of his journey. 

I think his lesson for the morning is to go ahead and get up early  (by this time of the morning, he would have already shaved and been out to buy his paper, because why have someone toss it on the ground when you can buy it and talk to someone)...
Get up early and interact with people, and start your journey for the day...
But in that, don't just make it a daily journey, make it a journey with a purpose. A journey toward that eternal life, unending and filled with more than we could ever hope for on earth.

I think he would also say to study up, not only on what is in the Bible, but study about all kinds of stuff, so as you spend your time in Heaven, you'll know more about the people who are already there. After all, it would lead to even more conversation, right?

Now, I find myself wondering if this part of my journey on life is going to turn me into a morning person. Well, that would make Roger happy, for sure!