When I came back to Auburn this fall I made a goal to do better about finding time to exercise. I don’t mind exercise, but usually it is the thing that gets put off at the end of the day when other appointments run long and other things “come up”. My freshman year I was a lot more consistent in my exercising because I worked out before school. So I have decided to start getting in bed earlier and getting up earlier. This has been hard, because we college students seem to be almost nocturnal. Last year I would typically get in bed between 12-1 in the morning so that has had to change this year to more like 10:30 or 11. So far I have done very well getting up at 5:30 to go to the gym. it is not always easy (this morning being a prime example), but I am always glad I do it. Unlike most of my classmates in my 8am class, I am actually awake and ready to go.
It was a little more difficult to get up this Friday morning and I was not in the best of mood as I drove toward campus, so I decided that I would find reasons to be joyful. The list went something like this:
-Another day of life
-The ability to get up and exercise
-Food in my kitchen,
-Being here in Auburn
-Quietness of campus that time of the morning
– It is Friday
-I am getting to go home to Athens for the weekend
-The beautiful sunrise
Just the fact that we have another day on this earth should be enough. The Psalmist said it best in Psalms 118:24
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Each day we are here we have the opportunity to exist in God’s creation, a blessing I too often take for granted. Some of my friends are journeying to Atlanta this weekend to attend the funeral of a friend, she leaves behind a husband and four children. While they are celebrating her walk on this earth, she will also be very missed.
So every early morning from now on, instead of thinking about how early it is and how I could still be asleep I will be joyful that God has given me another day of life.
I believe the song we sing at church, I Will Wake the Dawn With Praises will be my new anthem in the mornings:
“Dawn and sunset, fierce and joyful, each reflect his mighty ways. With the sea and sky before me I will praise Him all my days.
*Since there is no home game this weekend there is no Tailgate Treats this Friday, there will not be another until October 4*
AL from AL 