Morning Demons

This morning was an unusual Monday morning.  It is the beginning a summer and, for this week at least, there are no lunches to make or buses to catch.  But it was made more unusual in that my father-in-law  had to be taken to the emergency room at Midnight.  He fragile health condition deteriorated to the point that he couldn't stand up and he seemed to have lost short term memory.

I didn't fall asleep until 1:30 this morning and my husband arrived back from the hospital at 5 am.  Jim had been admitted and he will be in the hospital for a few days.  I spoke briefly to my husband and then fell back to sleep, waking up to the 7 am alarm.

For me, Monday mornings are pivotal to the productivity of the week.  I was somewhat apprehensive about what the day would bring.  I began to pray morning prayers from the Magnificat. In the paragraph before the Psalm it states that "Every morning we arise afresh in Christ our light.  Ancient Christian writers warn against 'morning demons: yesterday's worries and grievances returning to poison the new day."*

I shook my head and thought, how did they know that I thought I might spend my morning focused on the activities of yesterday.  How many mornings have I allowed those morning demons to set the tone for the day?  How much time to I waste thinking about the past?

One of the intersessions for today is a great prayer for any morning: "Grant us fresh hope at the beginning of this day- that we may live it for your glory and our neighbor's good."  What a great way to keep those demons at bay and we celebrate the beginning of a new day.


*Magnificant, Vol 13 No. 4, June 2011, page 288.

Gleaning Wheat

Today, I viewed the tenth lesson in Jeff Cavin's Bible Study Timeline of Salvation History focused on the book of Judges.  I was most struck about his comment about Ruth.  She was in the field gleaning wheat just moments before she met Boaz, her future husband.  And that encounter would change her life, leading her to become the great grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of Christ.

Ruth, a Moabite woman, was determined to take care of her mother-in-law, Naomi, after the death of both of their husbands.  She traveled to Naomi's home of Bethlehem and was working in the fields gleaning wheat after the harvesters had gone through the fields. The Bible doesn't give any indication about her emotions.  Was she lonely since she left her family to follow Naomi? Was she tired?  The Book of Ruth simply says that she worked " with scarcely a moment's rest". (Ruth 2:7)

There she was, doing exactly what she had promised to do, to take care of her mother-in-law.  It was an ordinary day and she was doing the daily chores.  And suddenly, her life changed with the meeting of Boaz. 

This event makes me think about the importance of doing the daily work of life faithfully and with dedication.  Who knows how the Lord will use what we do today to change our lives or the lives of those we encounter.  He is a great and might God whose love we can't comprehend.

The entire story can be found in the short book of Ruth (four chapters) in the Old Testament.