3:48 SATURDAY MORNING

It is 3:48 Saturday morning. I have been awake since 2:15. Not sure why I awakened at that hour but I was greeted with a humongous leg cramp running from hip to knee and had to walk it off. It was still a little tender so I sat down at my computer to “facebook.”

I frequently awaken early. In fact on most days that would occur about 15 minutes from now. (It’s the 2:15 that’s problematic.) This is when I check my email, review yesterday’s traffic on my blogs, and check potential assignments for my wife who is a substitute school teacher.

Back to my story or is it a lament? Facebook took me to a page that one of my friends had linked into. That led to my reading the page (see JESUS CENTRAL in my blogroll) and that led to inspiration which led to some early morning blogging. Ninety minutes sped by too quickly and my adrenalin is now pumping.  Going back to sleep is not a moot point.

The night before I fell asleep while watching a movie with my wife Dianne. We had just finished handing out goodies to the Trick or Treaters. Nothing worth watching on TV, so we opted for a video. (Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn in The Interpeter). That was about 8:10. I saw maybe five minutes and then the next thing I remember was was 9:45 as Dianne was trying to fix a scratch on the DVD that prevented her from seeing the ending.I fell back asleep (0n the couch) and then it was 2.15.

Do the math. It was six hours of sleep – generally all I need (or at least all my body will cooperate with.)  The problem is that by 9:00 tonight I’ll be crashing again. I will see maybe three innings of the Phillies and Rangers and then have to watch the highlights the next morning on Sports Center.

This schedule is wreaking havoc on personal time with Dianne and my ability to finish the three books sitting next to the couch. (Sue Grafton’s U is for Undertow, Josh Hamilton’s biography, and a social science tome by Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers.)


This schedule also means that at some point in the early afternoon I will go brain dead for about 30 minutes. Hopefully not why I am trying to drive. If I am fortunate, when I can catch a power nap. Embarrassingly, it has happened once or twice in an afternoon counseling session or staff meeting (once in the latter I fell asleep while I was speaking).

What’s the point (the take-away) from this lament? Well, several come to mind at this moment (which, by the way is now 4.15 in the morning).

+ Life is not perfect and we cannot always control our circumstances.
+ At least I am alive (unless the obituaries in the morning paper tell me otherwise).
+ I am not the only person who must be awake at this hour and for far more serious reasons. (I’ll be praying for them soon).
+ I can let this affect my attitude the rest of the day, or I decide to let the mind of Christ guide my day.
+ And most importantly, God is awake at this hour, too. He neither slumbers nor sleeps and He sometimes does His best work in the early morning hours.

So I will leave my keyboard now and embrace the day knowing God will work in and through me.
And now I’m going to get some breakfast.