Before we became parents, Dellan and I had a steady morning routine. We’d wake up, head downstairs, make some coffee, grab a comfy spot, and read the Bible for a while. Some days we would talk about a passage that stuck out to us, but most of the time we would just separately enjoy time in the Word. We might journal, too, or read a chapter of whatever devotional we were going through at the time.
It was a time of relaxing, filling our mind with truth, snuggling the dog, and starting the day off on the right foot. It was also about an hour long.
I knew that this would change after having a baby. I didn’t really have a plan in place for what we would do because I couldn’t envision exactly what our life would look like. All I knew was that we’d have to be flexible when the time came.
Elora arrived, and we were suddenly on the constant rotation of feeding, changing, sleeping (Elora), and rocking (us).
There wasn’t time to think about much else, but there were many moments when I would just silently thank God. He had made this dream of parenthood come true for us, and I was so grateful.
After a few weeks passed by in a blur, however, I found myself craving more time with Him. It had been such a joy to go through labor, welcome Elora into the world, introduce her to family and friends, and start our journey as parents with God comforting and strengthening us the entire time.
I could sense that my mind and heart needed refreshment, though.
Parenting is an all-consuming undertaking with few (if any) breaks. I wanted to keep doing it well. I wanted to glorify God in it. And I wanted to keep growing more and more into the woman He created me to be.
I knew that I needed to be back in the Word regularly. I hadn’t been able to plan for a new routine before becoming a mom, so now was the time to figure it out. If I could just spend some time thinking through how to get back into the same routine, I would be set.
In order to spend time thinking, though, you have to have some time.
And as a new mom, I did not.
Enter my new routine: reading my Bible app on my phone during the first feeding of the morning and then whenever I need a refreshment throughout the day.
This started about a month after Elora was born. I woke up one morning groggy and grumpy, hungry for some truth to kickstart my mind, and decided to just put aside my old idea of a quiet morning. I opened up the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, and decided to just start reading through. No reading plan, no devotional, and no journaling. I did develop a quick virtual highlighting system in which I pick out truths about the Father/Son/Spirit, verses that convict, and verses that encourage.
Some mornings I make it through a few chapters, and other mornings Elora is fussy and I get a few verses in. Whatever the case, I know that it helps me to renew my mind and prepare for a day of being all-in.
Side note, my husband still makes me coffee. He is the best and that is an added plus.
Maybe someday soon I’ll figure out a way to get up earlier and spend an hour the way I used to. I hope I do–it is refreshing and life-giving.
Until then, I’m fitting it in the best way I can.
It is not aesthetically pleasing or leisurely, but it is fruitful.
We could say that about most things pertaining to following Jesus, amen?
Gabrielle Ruth Writes 