James Baskett as Uncle Remus ~ Skippity Do Dah
I am really not a Morning Person. No, really. I am NOT a morning person. But through the years, mainly because I have five children and a husband I need to take care of, I have had to fake it. You’ve probably heard “Fake it til you make it”?
Well, it doesn’t work with mornings. After nearly 33 years of marriage and 30 years of children I am still not a morning person. But my attitude has changed.
What exactly is a morning person, you may ask? In my mind it is someone who sings Skipitty Do-Dah while showering and making breakfast. Also its someone who is fully awake and can participate in meaningful conversation. And remember it.
I can do some of those things but not all together. For example; I can make breakfast at 0’darkthirty but don’t expect me to sing, its all I can do to grunt good morning and keep from burning the bacon. I can listen to you talk and understand it but I can’t participate in meaningful conversation. I am an 8-10 hour of sleep kind of gal and even if I get that kind of sleep, my mind doesn’t awaken and the squirrels don’t start running in the wheel until maybe 8-10 a.m. Though through the years I have managed to teach myself to say the words, “I’ll get back to you.”
Winter time is the worst. In the spring and summer I can manage to get up and be communicative by 7 a.m. some days! But in the winter when the air is cold and the sky is dark, my body wants to hibernate and it is followed closely by my mind.
The one thing that has kept me going all these years is the knowledge that I have people who depend on me. Because there are people in my home who look to me to feed them, cloth them, teach them and support them in various ways, I get up and get moving at a reasonable hour. And I try to be friendly and kind even though I’d rather snap and grumble some mornings. If I can’t be nice, I keep my mouth shut firmly until I’ve awakened fully.
Sleepiness and my natural bent toward being grumpy are not excuses for treating people badly, or even for being a downer on their morning. I think of this: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Luke 6:31. What I would have others do unto me is to leave me alone until maybe 10 a.m… but that isn’t what this verses is saying. Its saying that whatever someone else needs, that’s what you do for them because that’s what you’d want them to do for you, right?
Part of growing and maturing in Christ is learning how to deny yourself and put others first. When you are living the daily grind, that gets hard, Sometimes you just want to drop it and be the way you want to be. But the love of Christ and the strength of the Holy spirit are right there for the taking. If I remember to ask, He supplies what I need.
I wish I could tell you that I became a morning person over the years but I can’t. I’m still sleepy and non-communicative early in the mornings. But I get my work done, and by the grace of God I am able to be kind and offer only gentle replies.
Are you a morning person? If you are, is it your nature or have you made yourself be a morning person?
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