A Beautiful Morning

There’s so much I love about retirement, but one of my favorites are those long, leisurely mornings. After getting up at 5:00 AM most of my life, dragging myself out of bed in time to do a quick devotional before getting ready for work, the luxury of sleeping until I naturally wake up and having a slower start to my day has been one of the greatest gifts during this stage of life.

Each morning, my husband and I spend a few minutes drinking coffee and watching the news together after getting out of bed. Of course, the news is always disturbing and disheartening, but I’ve discovered it just gives me fuel for my next task, my personal devotions.

I no longer have to rush through them and I have plenty to pray about after watching fifteen to thirty minutes of earthly drama. I then head upstairs to my office for my quiet time. It’s where I work, but also where I meet the Lord, pray and read His word each morning. In the summer months I’ll sometimes set on my back deck to feel the morning sun on my back and listen to the birds sing instead. Moses had a “tent of meeting” where he went to meet God each day and It’s lovely when we have a special place to go and meet with Him. Although, unlike Moses, God is with us wherever we go, because as Christians, He now lives inside us.

We read through the Bible each year with our church, so it’s so nice to have the time to actually ponder the verses and reflect on what the Lord might be teaching me through them.

When I was working, my focused morning prayer time was during my thirty- minute drive to work. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing and I did keep my eyes open all the time! Now, I actually have a prayer list on my phone and can look at it for reminders of what I need to pray about as well as express gratitude to God for all the ones He has answered and His incredible, never ending blessings.

The next part of my morning routine is yoga. I usually do just fifteen minutes with Yoga with Adriene. I love her gentle spirit. Yoga is extremely helpful for us older folks, because as you’ve probably noticed, our muscles tend to get tighter as we age. Yoga is also great for dealing with emotional baggage. By the time we’ve reached this age, we’ve been through a lot of life and trauma in this fallen world and yoga helps to release the tensions that may have built up through the years.

I’m then ready for my day. Sometimes I write first or sometimes I go to the Y first and then write. The rest of the day is for whatever is on my calendar and needs to be done and I’m able to go about it peacefully, because of the special time I’ve spent with Jesus.

I’ve always been a big proponent of a morning ritual, but I’m extremely grateful now that it doesn’t have to be rushed. If you have a morning routine that propels your day, I’d love to hear it. If you’re not in the habit of spending time with the Lord at the beginning of each day, I encourage you to give it a try and let me know how it changes your day. I think you’ll find that not only is it such a sweet time, but it also gives you peace and sets the tone for a fantastic rest of your day.

In the morning, Lord you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my request before you and wait expectantly.

Psalms 5:3