Time to Rise & Shine

I tend to think of myself as a fairly composed kind of person.  I rarely get angry.  There is however, something which fills me with rage.  The violent beeping rudely waking me from peaceful slumber; yes, you’ve guessed it: the sound of the alarm clock.  It may sound like a trivial thing but I am actually pretty ashamed at how much rage I feel towards this single inanimate object.
I tend to think that people when people get angry it is often because they are afraid of something.  So does this mean I’m living in fear of my alarm clock?  Well maybe.
I’ve been struggling with a few things recently - stress, health niggles, and to top it all off the miscarriage of a baby which really felt like the loss of my hopes and dreams.  Quite frankly I’ve been feeling pretty afraid of what I’m going to have to face each new day.  The result: a worrying desire to smash our alarm clock into the wall, pull the duvet back over my head and refuse to face the day at all.
In the Bible we are given a picture of the lover and the beloved as an image for one of the ways God loves his church.  Last week God got ahead of my alarm clock.  It was 2am and I wasn’t woken up by beeping at all.  My husband - completely unconscious - was gently stroking my neck.  My reaction should have been one of annoyance at being woken up but it wasn’t.  I just felt surrounded by the tender love of my Father in Heaven.  God was using this incident to show me that I’m not alone and that I can start my day not afraid but knowing He is with me and holds all things in His hands.
Allowing my fear to dictate my response to the day is never going to improve it.  Declaring that the day belongs to God and that I am trusting in Him to work it for His good is infinitely better.
It’s time to rise and shine.
     Esther Chandler 22/02/2011 (Author: )

---

Articles in this group

A changed life
Testimony from a CAP client (Author: )

Endgame
Evangelism (Author: )

Good Science
Embracing science (Author: )

Blind Faith?
What we believe (Author: )

When you know the Author
Learning to hear God's voice (Author: )

Doing it alone...
Living in community (Author: )

Hero
Ultimate hero (Author: )

The facts are not the Truth
The facts are not the whole truth- hearing what God says alongside the facts (Author: Sue Lyndon)

Let it Pour
let it pour (Author: )

The Real McCoy Revisited
The Real McCoy Revisited (Author: )

The Real McCoy
Social action (Author: )

North 2012
North (Author: )

Independent Woman
Independent woman (Author: )

Gods perspective
gods perspective (Author: )

You are with me
you are with me (Author: )

Dying to Live?
Dying to live (Author: )

I stand at the door and knock
CAP (Author: )

A Father's Heart
Fathers heart (Author: )

International Relations
international (Author: )

Don't be a David Cameron Christian
Don't be a David Cameron Christian (Author: )

A New Year - A Fresh Start?
New Year (Author: )

Christmas is coming
Christmas (Author: )

The Redundant Christian
the redundant christian (Author: )

No man is an island
No man is an island (Author: )

So you’re moving to a new city to study? (part three)
student3 (Author: )

Bedtime Reading
Bedtime Reading (Author: )

So you're moving to a new city to study (part 2)
So your moving to a new city (Author: )

Moving to a new city (part 1)
Moving to a new city (Author: )

Christ Central Blog
Blog test (Author: )