Waking up at 6 am each weekday can begin to get rather tiring...
A few weeks ago I had set my alarm on Sunday night and was ready to wake up the next morning at 6 am so that I could leave the house at 6.45 and catch the train to Excel.
I fell asleep and the next thing I knew, my dad was knocking on my door saying, "Sonya are you awake?" I check the time and it's 6.30. I flew out of bed, chucked my clothes on, made a sandwich to eat on the go, and was out the door to catch my train. (I made it on time, just saying) That night I determined that there was no way I was going through that rush again! So I set my alarms, and resolved in myself that I WAS GETTING UP ON TIME.
Alas, I awake to my dad knocking on my door once again. I was so frustrated at myself! I walk out to make a sandwich and Dad says, "Slept passed your alarm again?" To which I replied in a not-so-great tone of voice, "YES." Clearly, I was not happy with myself!
As we head out the door and are walking to the train station, Dad told me to not be so hard on myself, that my body clock was just out of order and it'd sort itself out.
The walk to the station takes about 15 minutes and often I use this time to pray. I realised my eyebrows were way down my forehead, my chin was lowered, and my steps heavier than usual. I was upset and disappointed. But as I began to pray, the thought came over me that I didn't want my day to be ruled by those emotions! I had work to do, people to see, life to live and I knew I couldn't enjoy those things if I felt like this.
So walking along I simply said to God, "God, I am not happy with myself this morning. I don't know how I slept in AGAIN. But I don't want to feel like this. I want to shine your light today. I want to live in your goodness. Jesus died for all my ugly feelings. Please help me to choose joy today!" and you know what? That decision to let go of what I was feeling and choose joy, flipped my day on it's head, and I ended up really having a great day!
The little things can so easily upset us: the milk running out, the bus running late, the sibling's rude comment, the shower being cold. All these things can tick us off and set us up for unhappiness. But there's a way past that! It's a concious choice that those things aren't going to ruin the potential for a good day.
Have a think about those things and as you come across uncomfortable circumstances in life ~
CHOOSE JOY :)
