What’s the longest period of time you have let your alarm go off for? Thirty minutes? An hour? Heck, since I usually work nights I don’t even set an alarm some days. I pretty much always have to pee come daylight so that wakes me up. My body is like a clock.
When Your Job is Just a Job
A lot of us have to work jobs simply to sustain ourselves, our families, or our passions and aspirations. Some people work jobs to support their bad habits, build meth labs, etc. Those people need to let go.
Sometimes I have to work morning shifts. To be honest, it can be hard for me to have the “joy of the Lord” when I have to be on the road at 6:30 AM so I can go park other people’s cars. This is where I just have to be positive.
When I do work early, I try to get up a little earlier so I can get my mind right. I also plan out what I’m going to do after work to drive me through my shift. When I work nights, I always try to accomplish something before work. It’s amazing how much a productive morning can affect my evening attitude. It also allows me to tell people what I spent the morning doing.
This is the Day
This is the day that the Lord has made (Psalms 118:24). How many times did I hear that verse (and sing the corresponding song) growing up? And yet, did I ever really think about? This is THE DAY that THE LORD has made. I always see the day as just another day, indistinguishable from the one before it. That is the path to insanity.
What if I looked at each day as a new day, as THE day? Today is the day that I’m going to write a new chapter for my book. Today is the day I’m going to let my friend know how important they are to me. You don’t have to make a specific list or agenda (I’ve never been huge on formalities), but it’s my goal to make each day it’s very own day, separated from the past and future.
In All things
Some days I’m frustrated with my job, but then I remember the simple fact that I have a job and it pays well enough for me to live. Other days I feel like I’m going nowhere. That’s when I remember that I’m still alive, young, and able. As much as I hate to say it, a lot of climbing life’s insurmountable wall is attitude. 1 Thessalonians says “In all things, give thanks.”
As I begin to thank God, I realize just how much I have. I see just how good He has been to me, despite the fact that I don’t really deserve it. And when I get caught up on the frustrations of life and the why God, why’s, I can often trace it back to something I am doing or not doing.
Joy really can come in the morning (Psalms 30:5), but it’s up to me whether I let it in our shut it out.
