I am not a morning person. By that I mean that I am not at my best early in the morning. Typically, I need at least one good cup of coffee to prime my motor and get me started for the day. After nearly 33 years of marriage, my husband has come to recognize this fact and is willing to overlook my shortcomings in that area. In fact, he more often than not chooses to simply allow me to sleep until I am ready to awaken naturally, even if that means he has to prepare his own breakfast and pack his own lunch before heading off to work. He even chooses to be especially quiet and close the bedroom door so that the lights and sounds of his morning preparations do not disturb me. I must confess that I have sometimes felt very guilty about that. As a wife and homemaker who takes her responsibilities very seriously, I've often felt condemned over the fact that I sleep past the time that many of my friends do. I've heard the stories about preachers who arise before the chickens and venture out into the woods with their Bible in hand to spend quality time with God. I have even personally known women who get up before sunrise to prepare a full course breakfast for their husbands and families. I admire those people, really I do... but I am not one of them. However, I have come to understand that once I do get out of bed, I rarely stop moving and working throughout the day and usually accomplish far more than most of my friends and acquaintances. It is not the number of hours that I am awake... it is how I choose to use the number of hours that I am awake that matters. So, I have chosen to accept that God made my body in such fashion as to require a bit more sleep in the morning and stop beating myself up over that fact.
When we look at other people and judge ourselves according to their examples, we will almost always end up either feeling badly for our shortcomings or glorifying ourselves for being "so much better" than someone else. Let's face it, there will always be those around us who are in worse shape than we are. Perhaps their finances are in a worse mess than ours. Maybe they weigh more than we do and are less dedicated to a healthy lifestyle. They may not spend as much time in prayer and Bible study as we do. However, it doesn't take much looking to find those who far exceed our accomplishments in all those areas. Each one of us is a unique individual with our own particular strengths and weaknesses, and we have been created by Almighty God to serve Him despite any obstacles we may perceive in this life. The Apostle Paul says it this way:
"Not that we [have the audacity to] venture to class or [even to] compare ourselves with some who exalt and furnish testimonials for themselves! However, when they measure themselves with themselves and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding and behave unwisely." (2 Corinthians 10:12, Amplified Bible)
We must guard against the mistake of comparing ourselves to those around us. God has not intended for all His children to be exactly the same or to have the same spiritual gifts. His desire is that we each become the unique and productive individual He has designed us to be and to use those gifts He has specifically given to us for His glory.
I believe the greatest hindrance to our service for the Lord rests in our self-condemnation and the mindset we develop over those things we see as weaknesses in ourselves. We spend so much time beating ourselves up that Satan really doesn't have to expend much energy on us in order to make us ineffective witnesses in this life. If only we could focus on those things we're doing RIGHT, and stop worrying about all we're doing wrong, we could surely accomplish amazing things for the kingdom of God on this earth.
I am not an early morning person, but once I get out of bed (usually sometime around 8:00 a.m.) I am ready to hit the ground running. In fact, I am even able to discipline myself to arise at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday mornings so that I can get ready to head off to seminary classes and arrive in a timely manner for them, well-groomed and ready to learn. I may not thoroughly enjoy those early morning days, but I CAN embrace them with a positive attitude and tackle the challenges of each one. For the rest of the week, I am content to accept the requirements for sleep that my body needs, knowing that once my feet hit the floor I will be well-rested and have a clear mind to accomplish all God has for me to do that day. While someone else is taking an afternoon nap to make it through the day, I am at my peak performance level and will be able to successfully complete whatever it is I choose to do.
I may not always measure up to some man's (or woman's) standard of what they think I should be, but praise God I no longer feel the need to do that! And each day I pray that God will help me stop placing my expectations onto those around me and allow Him to convict, to change (where and when necessary), and to work in and through everyone who loves Him and is "...called according to His purpose."
"But let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work. He can then have the personal satisfaction and joy of doing something commendable [in itself alone] without [resorting to] boastful comparison with his neighbor."
(Galatians 6:4, Amplified Bible)
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