June 16
Before the Day Gets Away
The day begins with things already waiting. Messages have arrived, someone needs an answer, and the first appointment is closer than we thought. A morning pause may seem like something to fit in after life settles down. That moment can keep moving until evening, when we wonder why the whole day felt borrowed from other people's urgency.
Considering the hours ahead need not require perfect quiet or a generous stretch of time. It can be a simple acknowledgment of the commitments before us and a request for help meeting them honestly. We may notice that one promise deserves attention before an appealing distraction, or that our plans have left no allowance for anybody else's needs. The pause will not prevent interruptions. It may help us meet them with a clearer sense of what we have undertaken and where we are trying to be useful. God can be addressed from an ordinary busy kitchen.
What would I like to remember before the day's demands start deciding for me?
This morning is already a place to begin.
For the A.A. nerds: Alcoholics Anonymous, “Into Action,” pp. 86–87.