early

Last week Joey and I started running in the mornings.

It is awesome. I love morning. 

Getting out of bed however......

The alarm goes off at 6 am, we snooze till 7. 

7:02. 7:05...

7:08 lets out a snooze ring on the alarm, and we bravely wrestle away the warm, cozy blankets and expose ourselves to the chilly gray morning. Open up those blinds to let the almost too bright light pour through the window. I heard somewhere that looking in the direction of brighter light will help your body wake up. Makes sense to me. 

Brush the teeth, empty the tank, pull back the hair. As we groggily get dressed, the thoughts that are now running through my mind are very important for what is to come. The first couple days of this routine were filled with "this is going to be so hard." "I want to go back to sleep." "I can't wait till this is over." "Why am I doing this?"

And it got to me.

All throughout the run, these thoughts would be hammering into my brain, into my legs, into my lungs. The WHOLE way. It was a long run. The sun was hot, the sidewalk uneven, the air smotheringly still. And then when my stopping point was just barely in sight, all these tortures increased ten-fold. Like when you have to pee, the second your brain recognizes that you are within range of a toilet its all you can do to hold it until you get there. My thoughts were in command. And I gave in like a whipped pup. It was pathetic.

That was the first couple days.

The days to follow were quite different. As the dressing routine begins, I fill my mind with thoughts contrary to the days before. "This is going to be great." "Look how beautiful it is outside and I get to be a part of it." "I am going to go further today than I did yesterday." "I am lighter than air!" "My legs are running animals." 

And it got to me.

Sure it was still hard. It's still RUNNING. Running for no reason. I'm not running away from danger or catching food or training for the olympics. But I know it is good for me. I know it builds discipline and good habits. And with all those good attitudes pouring out of me during this pointless run, I feel great! I am running faster, I am running easier, I am running! And it actually WAS beautiful outside. I really DID go farther than I did the day before. Just like I made myself think. And I am amazed at how much of a difference my attitude and thoughts made while running. Mind over body. It's like a super-power.

And in all these death defying, super-human thoughts I start to think "I am so glad I got up this morning!" How many people get to think that? I just heard of a guy the other day that willfully walked into on-coming freeway traffic, killing himself because he just lost his job, wasn't married, had nothing to live for. He had no reason to get up in the morning. How sad that is! Getting up in the morning is hard. The blankets beckon, the room is cold and quiet, my husband is warm next to me. But I know that if I keep sleeping, I will miss out on so much. I will regret it. 

No other time can I experience the fresh awakening of the day. The sky is still gray. Smells of sweetness I can't even begin to describe rise into the air. All the colors in trees, flowers, sky, and earth are intensified. The blood is flowing. The goosebumps are subsiding. My shoes clack-clack-clack in the stillness of the early morning. I will miss out on all that if I keep sleeping. Coming home to stretch and catch my breath, Joey & I take a quick shower while listening to some Stevie Wonder and he always replaces the lyrics of songs with the word 'poop' at one time or another. My Cherie of Poop. Signed, sealed, delivered; I'm Poop. Isn't She Poopy? How could I choose sleeping over all that?

I would be cozy if I had moved to Sacramento. I would be comfy if we had a house instead of an apartment. I would be dreaming the day away wrapped up in blankets if  Joey had a job. 

But I would be missing so much. I would regret it. 

Maybe not, I would be oblivious to the possibilities available. But now knowing what the morning brings, I would regret it big time. 

I have to choose to get up out of bed. Although even if I do that, it can still suck if I don't get those super-power thoughts flowing. 

We are faced with decisions everyday to choose between getting up, or staying in bed. Do we stay in an area that we can't afford to do God's will trusting that He will provide, or move to a more appealing place where we can 'take care of ourselves'? Does Joey get a full-time great paying job so that we are sittin' pretty with an easy life, or opt for the no-job-but-I-get-to-spend-time-praying-studying-being-with-students-investing-in-people's-lives-doing-what-I-was-created-to-do-for-no-pay option? When our car gets towed (as it did recently) and we have to pay $300 to get it out do we get upset, stress out, and complain about it, or take it as an opportunity to lean into Christ more than before and learn patience, trusting, and humility? 

We are experiencing things we never thought we would. We are growing in ways I never knew we could. We are getting thrown around and stepped on by circumstances so much these days that it is now just business as usual. I told Joey I feel like Eeyore without all the complaining. "Figures that would happen to us" seem to be a common phrase in our house.  Yet there is joy. And there is laughter. Because we chose to be super-human.

Sometimes, we take the sleeping option. 

I pray that we are given the strength to get up tomorrow morning. 

It's so beautiful in the morning.