Last week was MK Spirit Week. For me, it was BUSY BUSY BUSY! So I asked a friend, and fellow BMW, if she would help out with the blog post for this week. I had no idea what she would turn in to me. After reading what she submitted, I am sure glad I asked! I am sure there are many who struggle with the same thing, and could use the wisdom.
I hope you enjoy!
(Thanks, Jamie, for being REAL!)
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Yesterday's Lunch
I have a confession that I am not so proud of. Of course,
which “confessions” are you ever proud of, truthfully? Well this one goes
against the “perfect missionary” persona that is out there. I sometimes have a
hard time being consistent in my devotion or quiet time with the Lord. There I
said it. No, I’m not proud of it, nor condone it—but I am working at it.
There are days when it is easy. I wake up refreshed, the
kids sleep in, I leave my phone in the other room, and I get a lot of study
time in. I am able to study, pray and have a nice time, and leave with
something I want to share with others.
Then there are days where I wake up late, tired, or kids
wake up early and whiney, or I grab my phone and get distracted with social media
or email or chatting with my mom halfway across the world. I run out of time
and the day, children, my husband, life calls me to my duty.
I have found that if I leave my room before I sit with the
Lord I will not make time to do it later. I have tried, “Oh, I’ll do it at
school time, or nap time, or before bed, but once I leave my bedroom in the
morning there is a good chance it won’t happen at all. Please tell me I’m not
the only one like this. I know others struggle with a daily consistent quiet time.
I do think back on it during the day. It’s like the Lord is
calling me to spend time with him. Then I start thinking of the nice time, the
nice “lunch” I had with him the day before. I think, “I don’t have time now,
but at least I can think about what I learned yesterday.”
This isn’t bad. God wants us to remember what He taught us
and not to forget. He even wants us to share it with others, but he also wants
us to get it fresh from him. This lesson is for me—I can’t live on yesterday’s
lunch. I need a fresh serving every day.
Lamentations 3:23-23
“It is of the
LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new
every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
So we have all been there. You missed your first three
alarms for the morning, the kids are screaming, you didn’t spend time with the
Lord in the morning, you ran all day and are about to drop at night….Now what?
I have found a new way of study that I love. It causes me to
dwell on God’s Word more, to be still and listen more, but it also takes more
time and “equipment”—Bible, notebook, colored pencils, dictionary, drawing
pad…etc. And there are days, I just don’t have that time—whether it’s an excuse
or legitimate. For a while, I would just do nothing when I didn’t have my
“equipment” at hand or the time to delve in. I didn’t want to just read ahead,
because I didn’t want my journal to be missing info, and God forbid I actually
read it twice. Those days I would skip a “meal” altogether.
But I’ve come up with a remedy. It’s like on days you have
time you make a good meal. On other days you grab fast food! Well I’ve decided
to have a separate spot in my Bible designated for Fast Food—the book of Joshua,
and one place for a home-cooked meal—Ephesians.
Last night was a “no time” day. But before bed,
I stood at the light switch with my Bible in hand--too tired to sit down and
then get up again afterwards to turn the light off--and read a chapter and prayed. It wasn’t
grand. It wasn’t glorious. But it was something.
No one is ever proud of a fast food meal. There is tons of
research on why it is unhealthy, but it will keep you from starving! My
encouragement to you today is to get IN God’s Word, whether it is a long,
beautiful, peaceful, kid-free hour, or 5 minutes before you drop in bed dead
tired. God doesn’t want us to live on yesterday’s lunch, he wants us to get a
fresh meal each day—even if it is just fast food. The point is to get in God’s
Word and make it a daily habit—just like eating lunch every day.
Jamie Knickerbocker
Southern Asia
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