And Then I Start All Over Again

I take a nap almost every day.

There’s more to it than just being tired. For me, it’s part of a rhythm I’ve learned I need in my life.

Jesus had a rhythm too. There were times when He stopped. He spent time with the Father. He rested.

My mornings are usually more structured. I pray with other people a few days a week. I read. I listen to things. Snake comes over sometimes, and we talk honestly about where we're at. We hold each other accountable. Sometimes that means apologizing for something we said or recognizing something we need to make right.

Those things are important to me.

But this is different.

This is something I want to do.

I want to stop every day and sit with God.

And then I start all over again.

For a long time, I did that in a recliner at home. My nieces used to kid me about that recliner. But I would sit there with things going through my head that I couldn't figure out.

What am I going to do about this?

How am I going to handle that?

Sometimes I didn't have any clarity at all.

I would just sit there and shut everything off.

And there were times when I would get up from that chair and somehow, I intuitively knew what I needed to do.

But when I really think about it, even that isn't the most amazing part.

The amazing part is that God meets me there.

Think about that.

The God who created the whole universe finds the time to sit with me in my room.

Me.

And He helps me. He gives me clarity. He allows me to get back up and go out into the world a little better than I was when I sat down.

God, the Creator of the whole universe, shows up in my life.

That doesn't get lost on me.

I believe God dwells in us. And I've come to believe that when I'm not experiencing His presence, a lot of the time I'm the one getting in the way.

We live in a world with plenty of things competing for our attention. I can get busy. I can get caught up in myself. I can run around trying to figure everything out on my own.

And sometimes what I need most is to stop.

To be quiet.

To sit with God.

I don't always walk away with every answer. That's not really the point.

The point is making room for the One who created me for relationship with Him.

So I stop.

I rest.

I sit with God.

And then I get up and start all over again.

— Michael