So I got up early again today.  (Y’all have no idea how unlike me it is to get up before one of the kids literally drags me out of my bed!)  But I find I actually enjoy being up before the rest of the house is up.  If I can just put my feet on the floor, the rest is cake.

This morning I awoke to POURING rain.  That Nor’easter, they weren’t kidding.  It rained like that all night.  And as nice and cozy as it was to sleep to the sound of the rain pattering on my skylight, going outside in this mess (with three kids in tow, at that) is NOT my idea of fun.  And I will admit, my first thoughts of the day were, Forgive me, God, but I don’t want to go to church this morning in the pouring rain.

And as I brushed my teeth and found my robe, I contemplated ways to get out of going to church in this nasty weather.  I do have a cold.  Surely that should exempt me.  I don’t want to spread my germs, you know.  (Of course, it didn’t stop me from attending my son’s baseball game yesterday.)  The animated angel and demon on my shoulders continued to bicker back and forth as I brushed my teeth.

When I got downstairs, I made my coffee and sat down with this little devotional that my pastor’s wife game me last week.  (Which I love, by the way, and highly recommend.)

I opened the book to the page for April 15th, this is what I found:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Psalm 84:1-2

And I was instantly overcome with grief over my attitude towards going to church in the rain this morning.  Of all things, a little rain!  How pathetic.  And how revealing about the condition of my heart and how much I value comfort and convenience.

So I began praying, and among other things, I prayed that God would give me the yearning for him that this Psalm describes, that my heart and flesh would cry out for the living God.

And as I prayed, my attitude and desire began to change.  We are so blessed to live in a country where we can worship God freely, and yet, I guess the flip-side is, it is so easy to take that freedom for granted.

If you are a believer in Christ Jesus, don’t let your desire for comfort outweigh your desire to worship God this morning.  It is so easy to allow that to happen, and yet, isn’t it always such a blessing to sit in the presence of other believers in worship together?  It’s sort of like getting out of bed, isn’t it?  Just put your feet on the floor.  (Or in this case, get thee into the shower!)  The rest is cake!