| ON RISING EARLY Dear Sisters, For those of you who have heard of or put into practice the 'art' of rising early, to soak up God's Word, you may be able to relate to what I would like to say... Ever since I heard of other Christian women doing this, I knew I wanted to do it. I tried and failed, tried and failed. Oh, I had many a good excuse for my failure. But..... the sea of conviction splashed over me again and again, to the point I would return and do it all over; learn from my Saviour in the early hours of the morning. I had an idea in my head how my days should be if I were to rise early to be with Him. You see, I compared myself to other women who did this, and expected my life to run as theirs did. How wrong I have been! My expectation was that my husband would 'fall' into my routine. It didn't bother me too much that he wasn't doing the same, (although, I must confess, at one time it did! I wanted him to be there with me ~ to rise early, and read with me, until it was time for the children to be up and busy). The Lord helped me through that period, praise God. The next phase was for my husband's routine to fall in and fit perfectly with mine.......Ha! At that time, he was still working 60km away from home. Some mornings he would leave for work later than usual. After I had spent time with the Lord, I wanted to make the bed, tidy the bedroom, but I couldn't ~ because my husband was still in there! Other mornings, he would leave for work earlier than usual. This pattern interrupted my time with the Lord, as my husband would want me to spend time with him, before he left for work. What did I do? I spent the time with my husband, and asked the Lord to forgive me for leaving His Word. I wanted my husband to see the Lord's work in me in a practical way. I didn't want my husband to see a wife who begrudged time with her man. I was running on uncertainty as what to do. But the Lord knew my heart, even when I couldn't trust it! This frustrated me no end, and when things went wrong, I thought it was the Lord, testing my faith and sometimes even reprimanding and punishing me for not being 'faithful' to Him. Ha! All this ~ when I knew my righteousness was as filthy rags to Him! Yet, He remained faithful to me and covered me with His righteousness. My husband has been rising earlier than I of late. He rises early and makes the fire in our front living room. When I get up, I feel so rich as I am greeted by the warmth and glow of the fire, as well as the steaming hot cup of tea my sweetheart has prepared for me. But what thrills me, overwhelms me, brings so much joy to my heart and soul, is the picture of the man I love, sitting on the other side of the room, sipping his coffee, with his King James Bible on his lap! Oh, sweet sisters, may this encourage you to keep on doing right in the Lord. Never give up. Never! Some of you may have unbelieving husbands. Some of you may have husbands that don't add up to your idea of how they should be in Christ (as I once thought). May you grow in faith and "....Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" Philippians 4: 6-7 Furthermore, dear sisters, may this part of the Lord's admonition dwell in your hearts and soul ~ "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear". 1 Peter 3:1-2 This is a faithful promise and so true! With love in Christ, Helen |