I am not a morning person.

Let’s get one thing straight, I hate mornings, but I do love Jesus. So every Tuesday and Thursday when my alarm goes off at 6:57 am, I roll out of bed, make my way downstairs, and plop myself down on our living room couch just in time for 7 am morning prayer. Now in a house full of college students it’s safe to assume that I’m not the only one reluctant to get up that early, and you may be wondering why morning prayer? Well part of the reason is that it is very hard to find a time in which all 13 of us are free at once, but more importantly, there is something innately beautiful and sacrifice of getting up early to praise our Lord.

When Jesus calls his disciples, he calls them to give up everything and follow him and in return he sacrificed himself on the cross to save us all. Now I could go on for hours listing out all the reasons why I don’t deserve Jesus’ sacrifice, and I bet I am not alone in that, but none of that matters to Christ. He died because he loved us, not because we deserved it. And as someone striving to be his disciple, I am called to sacrifice everything to follow him, and that includes my precious sleep.

Before living in the house, morning prayer was never a part of my daily routine, because the first thing I want to do when I get up in the morning is go back to sleep. This year however I have fallen in love with the sense of calm that comes from starting my day off with a conversation with my Father in the quiet (or at least the closest to quite it gets in Philly) of the morning. Now that doesn’t mean it’s not a struggle to get up sometimes, but it does mean that I am never upset when I do. Morning prayer allows me to start my day with God on my mind, helping me to keep my eye on the prize despite the challenges of the day to day.

Interested in joining us for prayer? Email womenshousehold@gmail.com if you would like to join us in the morning or come on Monday Oct. 30 at 7pm as part of "Living it Up in Lisieux: Open House Week"