God Does Not Want Me to Hibernate

When you have ten people in your care, 11 if I count me, which I often forget to do, your days are not your own. Wayne asks me most mornings, "what does your day look like?" To which I have begun responding, "God hasn't shown me yet." I find that when I have a plan for what I would like to accomplish, or think I need to accomplish, I am often frustrated when "interruptions" take my time away from the plan. By making my days belong to the Lord, I come away somewhat less frustrated and much more in tune to what others need.

This brings me to hibernating. Winter and I don't get along very well. I dislike being cold, wearing a heavy coat and boots and having to sit in a cold vehicle to get where I need to be. Since I go to Mass nearly every morning I do experience the outside cold often and early. However, Mass is the one thing I do for me and I need it, especially in the winter.

Some mornings I wake up and want to roll over and snuggle back under the covers, however, the Lord beckons me to the living room for our morning chat. One by one the kiddos start to wake up. The two high schoolers need rides before 7 a.m. Wayne is kind enough to take them most days but I make his oatmeal before he leaves so he has a good start to his day in the trenches.

Then the youngest wakes up. She calls "mom?" down the stairs to make sure I'm up and in the living room so she won't be alone when she comes downstairs. She snuggles on my lap and my "interruptions" begin. From this moment, with the exception of Mass, my day belongs to the rest of the family. Dishes, laundry, schooling, chatting with the older kids as they get ready for work or school, help with homework, taking gasoline to my son who pushes it to the limit at least once a month, taking care of the dog when his owner is at work, and on and on.

On those mornings when I want to curl under the covers and wish winter away, God has other plans for me. I have to bow to His will, which always is a better way. The days pass quickly and I find that it is already past the middle of February. My spring is coming quickly and the wish to hibernate will soon disappear to be replaced with the desire to be up with the sun at 5 a.m. so I don't waste a minute of the warm spring and summer weather.

So I'll leave hibernating to the bears, and instead take comfort in the fact that God knows what I need and gives it to me every day.