Morning Meditations (of a Mommy Monk)
By Heather Cox
“Be still, and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10a NIV
The sunshine peeked through the curtains and the smell of percolating coffee wafted into my room. As I rose, I checked the clock: 6:04. Good. I would have time to read and study God’s Word before the kids got up. I curled up on the corner of the couch with my mug of coffee, journal, highlighters, and worn Bible. This was my favorite time of the day. A time to meditate upon God’s truth and soak in His words in the silence of the morning.
“The name of the Lord is…” interrupted by a snuggly pajama-clad boy. I tried to continue reading but soon he wanted a cup of juice, a blankie, an apple, a book…I had imagined a morning spent like a monk in solitude, but instead it was the morning of a menial servant. How could I spend my mornings becoming a deeply spiritual person if my kids kept getting in the way?!? My oh-so-godly attitude turned sour.
Brother Lawrence (a seventeenth century monk) spoke about practicing the presence of God – a practical kind of meditation upon God’s truth. He found God in peeling potatoes and washing dishes. Could my relationship with Jesus be more static than just reading from the Bible and bowing my head?
I have a tendency to think that if something is not blatantly spiritual, it is not worthwhile. How could potato peeling be spiritual? Or changing dirty diapers? How in the world am I supposed to hear the voice of the Lord over the ruckus of a full household? I have mistakenly assigned different values to different tasks in my daily routine. Quiet time: spiritual. Washing dishes: not so much. Preparing my Bible study: godly. Cleaning toilets: anawefulchoreImustperform with no intrinsic value.
I compartmentalized my life into spiritual and non-spiritual, but Jesus never did. He called us to follow His example as a servant – letting God saturate every part of His life. Could I focus on eternal things while I perform mundane tasks? I discovered that acts of service provide an inner silence and solitude because worries drain out of my mind as I focus on a menial task.
Unlike a monk, I cannot escape the worries of this world to seek solitude. Meditation for me as a mommy may look different from what I expected. Meditation means to focus and concentrate on truth. As I wash the dishes, I look out the window and see my children chasing birds in the backyard. I meditate on how God chases us until we surrender to His love.
Scrubbing off the remainders of burnt cookies, I meditate on God’s cleansing power to eradicate my mistakes. As I do my menial chores each day, could I concentrate on making it a spiritual moment by singing praise songs, reciting favorite verses or praying aloud?
Even though I imagine a monk sequestered in a cloister has more time for silence and solitude, a “Mommy Monk” can focus on God’s presence in every moment of an often-chaotic life. To begin, I invite God to speak to me in the daily activities of life. I pray that the eyes of my heart might be open to see the depth of His love for me each moment of my day.
A “Mommy Monk” may not lead a quiet lifestyle, but her heart is quieted before the Lord. Silence may only be temporary but meditation can be unceasing.
Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.”
Copyright © May 2008 – Heather Cox. All rights reserved
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