It seems like it’s too early for summer to be gone, and yet I’ve been watching football almost non-stop for a couple of weeks now and yesterday I even went deer hunting on opening day of bow season.
Yes we are entering my favorite time of the year, (football & hunting season), and it promises much needed relief from watching Arabs running through the streets killing Americans, protesting, burning USA flags, and pillaging, and of course the disgusting sight of the Obama team apologizing to them for the stupidity of our having the audacity to allow such a thing as free speech in our own country.
There is something special about sitting out in the woods in peaceful solitude, and observing God’s creation. It gives one time to think. Recently someone told me that they woke up at 2 a.m. and could not go back to sleep. They loudly exclaimed that there was absolutely nothing to do, but lay there and THINK! This person was very concerned that they might have a “panic attack” because there was nothing to do for a couple of hours.
OMG – Surely the end of the world is near when someone is forced to do nothing but “think” for a couple of hours. Geez Louise!
I guess I’m weird, but I like to think. I think while I work out, run on the treadmill, while I sit on a deer stand, when I’m driving around the plantation in my truck, while I stop in at the church and sit in one of the pews, and every morning when I wake up and cannot go back to sleep and sit at my desk for hours, long before the sun ever comes up.
Sometimes I use my thinking time to pray, or plan my day, and other times I work on the many projects that I have on my docket. Currently I’m writing a novel and although I’ve just been working on it for a couple of weeks, I’ve already thought through the entire book and have in essence written it in my head. Now I’m busily typing it out on paper and soon you will see it on Amazon. Call me crazy, but it was quite enjoyable to me to think through each chapter and let my mind creatively wander.
I gave a talk to a Bible study group the other day and I mentioned how much time I devote to working on my goals, (October through January 15th). Much of that time is spent thinking, and meditating about what I want to accomplish in life and in particular next year.
One gentleman mentioned that with the hustle and bustle of our modern world that he simply doesn’t have that kind of time.
Hmmm…Sounds like time is managing him rather than him managing it. I suppose we are free to allocate our time to accomplish those things which we deem to be the most important in our lives. The problem might be that some of us just don’t give much priority to quietly thinking things through.
I often think of God and spiritual matters when I arise in the wee hours of the morning. I wonder what He thinks about all of the distractions of modern day life. Back in the days when He roamed the earth, there was no TV, Internet, radio, bright lights and big cities. I thought about this when walking to my deer stand yesterday morning. It was pitch black dark except for the beautiful stars. It was very quiet except for an owl I heard hooting at a distance. It had to be similar to the ancient days gone by when He was visiting us in the flesh.
I thought of Jesus getting up early while the disciples still slept and could envision Him going to some secluded place to pray and meditate. Surely it was very dark, illuminated only by the billions of stars (that He named and the moon that He hung). It was a cool feeling thinking of Him in that manner. I could almost see Him walking along in His sandals and smiling as He observed the glory of His creation and enjoyed it.
I wonder if I would have been thinking of Him at all if I had an I-Pod stuck in my ear as I walked to my stand…
Nope!
I think God prefers for us to routinely find a quiet place to think, especially when we spend at least some of that time thinking about Him….
So if you wake up early and cannot go back to sleep – No need to panic – Enjoy the moment…
Psalms 63:6
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.