Seasons of change

It's October and yesterday the Stuntman (D) was running around inside and out with no shirt on. It's been unseasonably warm, which is kind of nice, but it makes me forget it is actually fall. The leaves are still mostly green although some varieties are dropping to the ground and getting crunchy. I love these seasons of transition, in weather, in life the transition seasons are much less comfortable. I am learning in my Bible study on Colossians, God is more concerned with what is going on inside of us than in our comfort. What is life, though, if not a series of changes and transitions from one thing to the next? Nothing stays the same...and that is good. Growth requires change, otherwise you just have stagnation...and we all know what happens in a stagnant environment. All kinds of nasty things begin to grow and fester, and so even remaining the same becomes a change for the worse.

I remember my Life Fitness teacher in college said in order to maintain our level of fitness we need to excercise 30 minutes twice weekly....that's for maintenence! In order to improve our level of fitness we need to exceed that amount. I am thinking that if our physical bodies need that much attention for maintenence, how much more attention does our spiritual body need. I have always, always struggled with the whole quiet time thing. Perhaps it began in my rebellion as a child living in such a revered Christian family. (The rebellion of my youth manifested itself in subtle forms most often.) The importance of having a daily quiet time or devotional was hammered into us from day one. But now I know it is vital to my spiritual health and yet it still is such a challenge to accomplish. I have three little excuses for not having a quiet time who disrupt my mornings. It seems no matter how early I wake, the very fact of my consciouness wakes them earlier too. And I'm not a morning person, but today I did manage to steal a few minutes with the Lord before the ambiant noise of my children rolled into a ruckus. It is my aim to be consistent with this, even if I do have to wake up earlier. Ugh.