Now o'Clock in the Morning

At 3:50 this morning, I awoke to Jonan calling through the bedroom door, “Mom, can you help Braylee get back in the bed?”

Mommy to the rescue!
(Image Courtesy of artur84 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

I jumped up with a groggy “Yes, honey, of course!” donned my bathrobe, and headed to their room. As I stumbled down the short hallway, I marveled that I missed the ‘boom’ when Braylee hit the floor after falling out of bed. Then I wondered how she did that when Jonan sleeps on the outside.

And as I thought of Jonan, I realized he didn't seem all that concerned about Braylee being injured, which wasn't like him. He’s the kid who can’t focus in school if a classmate is crying or upset, the one who seemed able to read and respond to my emotions before he knew his ABCs.

Watching him take Braylee’s tumble in literal stride—I mean, could he walk any more casually?—I entered their bedroom and realized my error.

Braylee was sitting on the floor, half-wrapped in her Disney princesses blanket, playing with her SpongeBob matching cards. She looked up with a smiling wave. “Hi, Mommy!”

At 3:50 in the morning.

“Mom," Jonan said. “Can you make Braylee get in the bed?”

I instead told Braylee to go use the bathroom and told Jonan to lie down.

"But I'm thirsty,” he said as if this were a reasonable reply to anything Mommy says.

At 3:50 in the morning.

Braylee came out of the bathroom and requested to go lie down beside Daddy, which inspired Jonan to ask if he could go to school now. I was rubbing sleep out of my eyes, clenching my hands, and trying not to snap.

Because, lest you've forgotten, it was 3:50 in the freakin-deacon morning.

Then something within me said, “They don’t know that.”

They don’t know that.

They don't know it's 3:50 in the morning. Don’t know what that means to me or will mean for them when they need to wake up officially in a few hours. They don’t know and don’t care. Not because they’re heartless but because at their tender age, their main concept of time is NOW. If anything must happen, it must happen Now because Now is all they have.

And isn't that the truth?

Tis Now o'Clock!
(Image Courtesy of Sheela Mohan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

There's a verse in James 4 which discusses the folly of focusing about what you will do tomorrow because you might not live that long. But as a mom and writer and human being, I have to think about tomorrow...though I often add a dash of worry to spice things up. Although I understand what the writer means, I couldn't possibly l live that way, living only for Now.

Could I?

I concluded last Friday’s DWD Challenge post promising the next post would focus on what I learned during my data-free day. Last Wednesday, I promised to post today about Scandal. As you can see, neither post happened. I have the post-DWD post drafted, but the more I work on it, the more I find it redundant given the lessons I mentioned in the original post. Yet because I promised both posts, I feel guilty for not sharing them, even though the alternate posts were easy, fun, and even God-inspired.

Because as I said, I wrote this entry after being awakened at 3:50 in the morning.

So maybe there is something to be said for living in Now, for letting the Holy Spirit lead me each day rather than me directing my own way. I need to be a good steward of my time and plan how I might invest in and enjoy tomorrow, yes. But my God calls Himself “I AM”—His very definition is Now. So for now, right now, I should be focused on Now.

Armed with this knowledge, I turned to my cherubs at a little past 3:50 this morning and said, "Guys, it's time to go back to sleep. You will get to do those other things but not Now."

And though there were cries of protest and displeasure, I knew they understood me. And having diffused the situation, I returned to my room and drafted this post. Which I shall share with you.

Now.