Mornings with God

Dearest Ones,

I need to start the morning with God. If I begin with God, it's going to make a difference in my day. I have to do more than just think of what I need to do each day - I need to get God's blessing on what I do. At 5:00 am it would be so much easier to shut off the alarm and go back to sleep, but I know I need that first hour with God. I treasure it. No distraction - no newspapers, TV or pets. I am alone and feel very blessed to spend that first hour with Jesus.

If Jesus got up early in the morning to go to the hills to pray alone to His heavenly Father, how much more do I need to. That's where He got His strength. Mark 1:32 says, "And early in the morning He rose and went to a lonely place, and there He prayed." We know He wasn't alone because He was with His Father and because of that, He never felt less alone.

Rather than thinking about someone I want to change, if I try to think of someone to compliment I feel better. I have heard that it is a good thing to compliment your spouse at least 5 times a day. Since I don't have an earthly spouse, I have many Sisters who need my support. Every morning I try to think of someone I can be a blessing to...to lift someone's cross and help them to carry it. But I can do nothing by myself. He will help me.

As I begin my prayer each morning, it helps to sing the Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me show your love
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
And where there's doubt, true faith in You.

I need to throw myself into the arms of Jesus every morning and ask for strength to pay attention to the little things. Life is made up of little things. I realize that the days that lie ahead of me are fewer than those behind. I want to spend this last period of my life in the heart of Jesus. Even if I spend the entire morning hour fighting off distractions, God will be pleased with the time spent with Him.

I imagine He sits in a chair beside me, holding my hand. I won't always feel His presence, but I must not let the dark, dry times stop me from trying to get close to His heart. I know He's there - holding out His arms to me. There will be suffering with each new day, but that is His way of bringing me closer to Him. If there was another way, He would find it. Jesus is hidden in each and every thing that happens.

Reading from a Daily Devotional helps me to keep focused. Even if I don't see the result of my prayers, I must not let this hold me back from praying.

If you are not already doing it, I urge you to start taking some special time in the morning with God. Make a date with Jesus and then keep it. You may wish to start with 15 minutes or a half hour, then increase the time as you wish. It is said that it takes 28 days to form a new habit - so it will take time and effort. If you pray first thing in the morning, it doesn't mean that everything will be perfect that day and you will no longer have problems. Jesus knows we love to worry. That's why He says, "Let not your hearts be troubled." We not only worry about finances, our family, illness, or our jobs - we also worry when things are going well. We worry that it won't last. How can we move past this and experience the peace Jesus promised?

Jesus gives us the answer: "Trust in God." We can do this by turning to God each morning, before our mind gets cluttered. Let's ask God to guard our minds against all anxiety and fear and to place our hope in Him. He will speak to you and tell you that He loves you, if you listen. God cares about your life and wants to meet your needs and do more than you can ever imagine!

If you do decide to spend time with Jesus in the morning, the devil is going to have a fit! He'll try every trick possible to stop you. He'll whisper things like: "You need your sleep; God doesn't really care about you anyway; Prayer is a waste of time and doesn't do any good." The devil knows how prayer has helped countless Christians get closer to Jesus, so he'll put up a fight. Some people have quality time with God while running or walking. Great!

Prayer: "Jesus, I know that without you, I am nothing, but with you I have everything!"

With all my love and prayers,
Sister Francelle