A Fathers' Love

Today I didn't feel like I had the inspiration that I needed to accomplish the things I had planned on accomplishing. In retrospect I believe it all had to do with how I started my day.

Nope...I didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I just woke up late. I forgot to set my alarm  and my normal backup alarm, Ian (my son) who wakes up by 7:30 nearly every morning slept in till after I woke up. I was stressed, running way late for work. Spending a few minutes with my son calmed that stress right down...how can one be stressed when they have the ability to spend quality time (even if only for a few moments) with someone they love!

No matter what happens I always make that quality time with Ian. He deserves it! Most days he gives that quality time back. Tonight's scripture study sums up that love that a parent has for their child.

"Greater love hath no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends"

John 15:13

I would give and do anything for Ian. I've been blessed with such a wonderful little boy! This can't be that bad a morning can it? It really was a pretty good. So why, you ask does the way my morning started have anything to do with why I didn't have the inspiration to accomplish my goals?

Simple...I didn't make time to pray this morning. OK...I prayed in my heart many times, but I didn't take the time to kneel down and pray. It's amazing how such a simple act of kneeling down, giving thanks, and asking for a loving Father's help can make such a difference in a day.

Think about God's power and love for all of us. We are His children. Knowing all that I would sacrifice for Ian I can only imagine what our Heavenly Father is willing to do for me (all of us really) when I just make a few minutes to talk with Him. I didn't get the inspiration I needed until I took a moment to kneel down tonight and ask for His help on what I should write. All day I felt something was missing and I didn't realize it until I asked for His help. I'm glad I did. Lesson learned.

You should notice that as I've written I specifically stated "make time" vs. "take time." To me this is important. When we make time we are sacrificing something for the greater good. This is a test of our faith and we in the long run are rewarded by his love! Make the time until it becomes so routine that you are taking the time. Once you are there, you'll find that there are plenty of other things in your life that you'll need to make time for.

There's a verbiage out there of "fake it till you make it." If your faith is shaken and you don't feel that God is listening, I promise you that He is. It is something that you're sacrifice (faking it until you make it - i.e. making time to pray) will help you re-establish that relationship. It takes time. It's like any relationship, you don't feel close to someone after meeting them for the first time and only talking for a few minutes. In recently building a relationship I've found that we've spent hours and hours on the phone talking and getting to know one another. If we were to talk for only 5 minutes a day, there wouldn't be a relationship. Making time, quality time is imperative for any relationship. Kneeling gives that quality time, keeping that prayer in your heart will continue to "build" that relationship. If 5 minutes is all you have a day, start there. Pray for help to build the habit. Before you know it you'll find yourself missing your daily prayer when it was skipped.

Remember, good habits get better with time. A word of caution though, bad habits get worse with time. It's the patterns (i.e. prayer, scripture study, positive attitudes, etc...) you create in life (good or bad) that make you who you are. I challenge you to MAKE the time to pray!