DOES QUIET TIME REALLY EXIST FOR PARENTS?

So I'm beginning to understand why I've heard countless times that quiet time should take place early in the morning before anyone else is up.

Unfortunately for me, I {Mandy} am not a morning person.

I consider "early" to be 7:00. And I actually consider that to be "butt-crack-of-dawn" early.

So my "quiet time" is usually anything but quiet.

This morning I was excited to do my new Beth Moore Bible Study, so I gathered together my Bible, the workbook, and my journal notebook, got a hot cup of coffee and settled in the front room (careful to be away from the kids who were in the living room) and settled in to learn and be refreshed by being in the Word. *Cue beautiful, harp music here*

But that was just not meant to be.

Instead of delicious, lengthy moments of clutching my Bible to my chest while I ponder the richness of God's Word, I was constantly interrupted with things like refereeing who got to use my iPad, fending off my 2 year old who was begging to play with my iPhone, typing in things for my 5 year old who is searching for specific games on the kindle, fetching toilet paper for our 8 year old who didn't heed my advice to use the upstairs bathroom, and listening for the 500th time while the 2 year old threw massive tantrum after tantrum.

And all this is AFTER I was ripped out of bed when my newly-sorta-potty-trained almost 4 year old said in a panic that he had to pee at 7:30 this morning.

And of course, he didn't make it in time, so he peed all over the bar stool and the floor and then also proceeded to poop in his pants which led me to a near breakdown. (Even after potty training 3 other kids, I STILL consider potty training to be the most loathsome milestone.)

And in between all these calamities and distractions, I did manage to glean some meaty bits from the Word, but it was woven in and out of yelling, crying, fighting, and screaming. (Some me and some the kids.)

And then I realized, in the midst of a tirade with my voice raised to a yell, that the reason I am supposed to be in quiet time with God is to get my thoughts right. Get ready for the day. Put on the full armor of God so that I am equipped to withstand whatever it is that the day will throw at me.

I found myself asking how much better I would have handled all those "catastrophes" if I had gotten up before the kids did, padded downstairs to the front room with some coffee and my Bible and actually had QUIET time for my Quiet Time?

Maybe I wouldn't have been pondering an enormous Truth while at the same time biting my daughter's head off because she asked me a question. Or maybe I wouldn't have disparaged my 8 year old for having the AUDACITY to ask me for toilet paper.

MAYBE, just maybe I would have been able to really GET what God was trying to whisper in my ear, but I was so busy yelling in frustration over being interrupted so many times that I only heard part of it, and missed the full impact.

There is an enormous stronghold I am battling right now and I have watched God draw me in to look closely at it. He has brought many things and people to my life and to my attention lately that I KNOW He is working on my heart in this area. Today was no exception. I am at the CLIFF of totally giving in and giving it over to Him, like I should, but instead, I am hassled, frustrated, and exasperated because my kids are loud and demanding.

And it's after 8 years of having kids that this STILL surprises me!

So, I am realizing WHY it is essential to not only get your time in with God, but to get it in when you can really appreciate it and absorb it. When you can REALLY and FULLY hear Him.

For me, that means that I have to get up earlier.

And that totally sucks, but if I have to choose between getting up earlier and being a little tired but refreshed and loaded and ready for my day, able to be a better wife and mom because I have gotten my strength and wisdom from Him, over getting up later and being annoyed and irritable because I am trying to "squeeze" in Bible time while wrestling with my kids' needs and demands....well, it really should be a no-brainer.

It's why Jesus went away from the crowds and often the disciples when He needed time with God. He needed to HEAR and THINK. And not in fits and starts, but completely, without distraction.

Maybe I could have put this stronghold to rest long ago if I'd done that.

So my encouragement to you today is to make sure you're getting alone with God. I realize it won't always happen in the morning and it won't always be perfectly etched into your schedule, but make it a priority. Us having Quiet Time is all about communing with the very God who can give us the strength to make all those other moments of the day count. What good are 24 hours of a day when they are conducted without a clear thought or conversation with God? How much better to be with Him, locked in and unfettered for even 5 solid minutes than to wrangle our way through the day on our own with only a passing thought to the Almighty.

My prayer for myself and all of you:

Father, so often I race into my day without more than a passing thought to You and what You have planned for me. I so often find time to check my email, my text messages and voice mail, or flip through a magazine or read blogs, but I don't regularly invest the time to dig into your Word and prepare for the day. Please give me a passion and a hunger and a thirst for Your Word and help me recognize and take advantage of the opportunities You provide for me to be alone with You. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

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