Can I be honest with you? One of my favorite things to do, reading the Bible first thing in the morning, has taken a back seat since our family moved from the U.S. to Spain. I felt like the immigration process, between visas to empadronmiento appointments and TIE processes, took over all of my extra time in the past year. As a result, my Bible reading time as a busy American mom living in Spain has gone by the wayside.
And for me, let me share what some of the effects of that have been. I have definitely been shorter with my kids. I have been less patient with my husband. I have let the world in first before I let His word in. Reading the Bible has been a beautiful discipline of mine since I became a believer. It’s such a great feeling to start the day off in a slower, more intentional way.
By prioritizing to read the Bible first thing in the morning, my hope is that our young boys see this and choose to imitate it. What a joy it would be if they chose to start their days by reading His word as adults as well! Often times, our behaviors and patterns are mimicked by our kids. This is a pattern that I’m truly hopeful will be something that they genuinely want to do, too.
I may have fallen behind on reading the Bible first thing in the morning since our move but the good news is that I can always start back again. I can picture Jesus waiting for me, with open arms, having never left my side when I spent less time with him. He was waiting for me to join Him along, and wasn’t in a place of bitterness or anger, but instead a place of genuine excitement to hear my voice again.
What a gift we have in the word of the Lord!
Meg James, American mom of Landon (6th) and Griffin (4th)
