How Do You Frame Your Future?

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful
            to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    til the storms of destruction pass by by.
I will cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose
            for me.”        (Psalm 57:1-2 ESV)

Last night was a long night and I am having a hard time getting myself in gear this morning. Evan woke up screaming twice last night. The first time Karen and I were still up trying to have a little quality time watching an episode of the Golden Girls (GGs) so we worked together to try to settle him back down to sleep. He wasn’t anywhere near due to eat, he couldn’t have more Tylenol, and we were pretty sure it was his teeth. All we could do was make him comfortable and put him back to bed. The second time he woke up it was just me on night duty, and Evan was both hungry and fighting with his mouth. That one was all me, but I managed to feed him, change him and get him back to sleep by 3am. All of that combined with a weekend full of “have to’s” makes it very hard to get going on a Monday. And this isn’t just any Monday. It’s the first day of the spring semester. I could fill this blog with complaints about the reading I need to start getting done, or whining about how I’m going to do the reading while Evan is teething. Instead I am going to look to the Psalms for a little help, and think about how I am framing my life.

My life is about priorities and how I spend my time. The way a person spends their time says a lot about who they are and what they value. I do my very best to try to line up my priorities in this order; God, Karen and Evan, school/work, church. This morning when I am tired and struggling to get going I am choosing to look to the Lord, the God Most High, and in Him I will take refuge and look for the strength to get through the day. God is stronger than I am. God is stronger than you are. If God can give Elijah the strength to run 40 days and 40 nights to the mountain of God, God can certainly get me through the first day of the semester. If I stumble today – when I stumble today, I will remember from where my strength comes, and pick myself up to begin again. God has a purpose for me, and I will do my best to make myself open and available for God to work His will in my life. How will I frame my future? I will frame my future through the way I spend my time.