Morning Dates with the King of Kings

(Just a side note: I'm penning this post for my own sake just as much as anyone else's- I desparately need the advice myself!)

When I first fell in love with Jesus, I knew that spending time with Him was more important than just about anything else. Being a homeschooled sophomore in high school, I had a steady, easy schedule, yet it felt like a chore to wake up a little earlier in the morning just for some intimate time alone with my Savior. I stuck with it, though, and soon it was an unbreakable habit- or so I thought.

My schedule has been anything but regular of late- to bed at 2 AM, up at 7 AM, to bed at 12 AM, up at 8 AM, to bed at 3 AM up at 9 AM- and it's been anything but simple. Some weeks I have ten piano students, take three children home from school three times, play at two assisted living facilities, volunteer at church and lead a Bible study with Lindsey- it's wonderful, but it's not exactly easy. And, all too often, I begin to lean upon myself instead of the grace of God.

We all know what happens when we try to lean upon ourselves: we come crashing down in a heap.

The first thing that I've compromised with this new, confusing lifestyle is my alone time with Jesus. Some mornings I press the snooze button one too many times and lose my Bible-reading time. Others I accidentally sleep in and don't start off the day with any intimacy with Him at all. It's on those days that I begin to lose my focus altogether. When a day doesn't start with focus on Jesus, it's hard to gain back that focus later on.

I've heard it explained this way: you wouldn't miss a date. You wouldn't sleep in and miss that special time with a special someone. How much more does the precious Prince of our souls deserve our devotion? If we begin to think of our mornings as His and not our own, perhaps the our entire days will become His, too. He certainly does beautiful things when we hand Him our every rag.