Look and listen to God first
CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON
“In the pure, strong hours of the morning, when the soul of the day
is at its best, lean upon the window sill of God and look into His
face, and get the orders for the day. Then go out into the day with
the sense of a hand upon your shoulder and not a chip.”
-- E. STANLEY JONES
Are you a morning person, who wakes up eager to meet the new day
and is excited about what God has planned for you, or are you more of
a night owl and find that the alarm clock rings long before you’re
ready to rise?
Perhaps you are looking forward to the day, but it just takes some
time and coffee to get going. I’m typically a morning person, and
some mornings I wake up thinking about what God’s plans for me are,
while other mornings I charge right into what I think is most
important.
We’ve experienced amazing mornings over the past few weeks,
ranging from warm, beautiful sunrises to cold, pelting rain. No
matter what the weather may be, wherever we are, each morning brings
the start of a new day. After reading the quote at the top of this
column and talking with some friends, I am going to try to look at
each day in a new way.
Several friends have told me they start their mornings by asking
God for his marching orders for the day.
“After all, God gave me the gift of a new day, so I want him to
tell me what he wants me to do with it,” one of them said.
I agreed, and I want to try that. It’s very easy for me to march
along full speed ahead, only to realize later that I was marching on
my own and in the wrong direction. It’s like I’m going around in
circles until I ask God to straighten me out.
My husband Jon and I woke up to a cold, dark morning on the day I
began this column. After breakfast, Jon left for work, and I headed
outside for a walk. I thought about what I needed to do that day and
started feeling unsettled. I marched back home.
“Oops, God, I’m sorry,” I said out loud. “What are your orders for
me for today?”
I sat quietly for a while and then had a thought. I glanced over
my “to-do” list for the day and wrote “to be with God.” It was as if
God said, “Cindy, Cindy, Cindy, calm down. Look to me and listen to
me first.”
The anxiousness I felt when I first looked at my list was replaced
by peace, and I minimized the items to the essentials. I stared out
the window at the sky, which was ablaze with changing colors. My mood
became more colorful too.
“Thank you God,” I said.
I wasn’t a parent telling a child to march back inside to wash his
hands; I was a child asking my Heavenly Father to wash my heart and
soul. I went for a shorter walk later, but more importantly, I felt
like God’s hand was in my plans.
And you can quote me on that.
* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks
frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at
cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,
Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.
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