It definitely affected mine
I had been going about the business of writing all wrong, and it took a confrontation by God to set me straight. My conversation with Him went something like this:
“Do you remember that you kept waking up earlier and earlier TO SPEND TIME WITH ME — and then, instead, you ‘listened to sermons on the radio’ as you busied yourself with morning chores — to get to the gym earlier?
“How is that whole fitness thing working for you?”
(I’ve been increasing the length of my workouts in an attempt to combat menopause’s determination to ruin my girlish figure. Instead of getting smaller, I’ve gotten MUSCLES that make my suit jackets uncomfortable! Ugh!)
“Let’s try a new routine,” He said to me. “If you want to write for me, you need to adjust your schedule to reflect your values: FITNESS OF YOUR HEART.
“You think the time you spend with me while multitasking is quality time? Imagine if you played a fitness tape AS YOU DROVE TO WORK and called that quality exercise.'”
I see His point. My alarm on weekdays is set for 3:59 a.m., originally intended to give me time to read God’s Word and pray before leaving for the gym about 5:45. Then a new Christian radio station started playing Thru the Bible sermons at 4 a.m. and another sermon at 4:30 a.m. It seemed logical that I could listen — mostly — as I did my morning chores.
Then the Bible App provided the Bible in One Year with Nicky Gumbel in audio. I can listen — sometimes even intently — while I drive to the health club and then to work. Sometimes I’d murmur a brief prayer — or a desperate prayer, depending on the day — in my car before heading into the building.
I’d never play a fitness tape as I drove and call it exercise. Why did I think I could give God less quality time than my physical fitness and think it sufficient?
If God is my inspiration for writing, you can imagine why I’ve been less than prolific.
Multitasking vs. quality time
I believe you’d call my previous routine an exercise in multitasking. Sure, some of what I heard as I focused on important things such as packing my lunch or driving to work made it into my head and heart. But what would happen if I made real quality time for God in the morning?
Well, I’d get a little confrontation — such as the conversation above — and a lot of joyful reasons to repeat it the next day. And the next, and the next. And maybe I’d get a bit fatter because I’d have less time at the gym. (But maybe my muscles will shrink so I can wear my suit jackets more comfortably?)
Goodbye to multitasking when I should be focusing on one supremely important thing. (Seems I should have applied the lesson to my spiritual life back when I applied it to my dental health a couple years ago. That story here.)
So I’ve been putting quality time with God first on the day’s agenda. It’s not just the timing of that schedule block; it’s the quality of the time. Me, God, my Bible, and my journal. And coffee. Occasionally, the cat. But no radio. No multitasking.
I feel like a different person. Fitter heart, perhaps a less fit body. Can I just say this? It’s worth it! He is worth it. Quality time with God blesses me, too.
If you want details, ask in the comments. Otherwise, more later.
People photo created by jcomp – www.freepik.com
All Things Work Together 
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