We all have a natural rhythm to life, and thankfully God created each of us to be uniquely ourselves! Funny, though, how often we get judged for being that very uniquely created individual!
I was recently chatting with one of my sons about this and he and I are the two in our family who are true night owls. He was talking about his upcoming transition in commercial flight school when he will be flying in Phoenix, AZ for about 1200 hours in order to complete his training, and because of the heat they tend to do most of their 10-12 hour days in the air at night so it will be a tolerable temperature in the un-airconditioned cockpit. We were laughing about how, for him, this would be his ideal schedule based on how his internal body clock was created. For some reason, though, there seems to be great virtue in our culture about being an early riser and catching that proverbial worm. But what about all the jobs that need to be done after-hours? What about the exhausted moms who FINALLY get a little peace and quiet in the wee hours before dawn when the house is quiet and they can think without being interrupted? WHY does getting up with the sun indicate someone is more industrious...and therefore more worthy?
When we think of the term, "diversity" these days, we largely think of race or sexual orientation. We also tend to ignore the obvious, that we each have a different purpose in life and to fulfill it we MUST be more diverse than, say, everyone getting up at 5:30 am. Maybe you prefer working in cooler weather where another thrives in the desert. Or you might LOVE winters and being all cozy and comfy next to a fire as the dark skies outside spread a blanket of gray over everything. Someone else may prefer sunshine 365 days of the year and find themselves feeling a little blue without it. Some of us need 10 hours of sleep in order to function at our best, while others need only 7 hours a night.
Why do we judge such simple and unimportant things in another? Why do we humans tend to have this tendancy to think that they way WE do things is the only "right" way to function in the world? In James 2:1-4 we read, "My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?
For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in…have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”
Favoring any particular one way of walking through the world over another limits us all. Thankful for all the Early Birds and the Night Owls among us!
In Light and Love,
Rev. Cindy
