Good Moaning or Morning?

Read Matthew 5-6.

“Do not worry…look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” -Matthew 6:26 (New International Version)

What’s your first thought when you wake up each morning? For some, it’s “I don’t want to get up” or “I hate mornings” or “Oh no, I’ve overslept!” There have been times when my morning mind has thought things that I wouldn’t say in church or in front of my mother. Have you ever had one of those mornings?

Nowadays, immediately after I awake, I try to make my first thoughts of God. It’s usually a greeting like, “Good morning, God. Thank you for the gift of this day.” It only takes a minute or two each day for this habit to be formed, but I have noticed that making God my first thought seems to get my morning off to a much more pleasant start.

Sometimes I do wake up late or I didn’t sleep well the night before. On those days, it’s more difficult to say, “Good morning, God.” I’m tempted to complain or think negative thoughts. When such temptations arise, I try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to immediately block those thoughts from my mind. Instead, I thank God for my pillow and my bed. I thank God for the covers that kept me warm in the night and acknowledge that this may be a morning where I need to experience the warmth of God’s love in a special way. So I invite and expect God to wrap around me and my day like that blanket on my bed.

Most of the time prayers like that work. But some days are worse than others. So while showering, I continue the prayers. I think of my baptism and what it represents- how God claimed me and cleansed me. I ask God to claim and cleanse this day.

Still a bad morning? I go to the window and I look for the birds, remembering the scripture: “Do not worry…look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

I hope these suggestions get your day off to a better start. May God grant you the grace to turn your first thoughts each day to Him. The God that redeemed you can redeem this day. Realizing that is a great way to begin the morning.