day 724: Arc of Day (repost)

"Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began." When we rise in the morning and ready ourselves for work we shift our mind and thinking to going away from our home and loved ones to another place where we may not be as happy or as fulfilled, but know that we have a job to do so we go do it. We give it our best. We forget to call home. We lose track of the hours and along the day we find ourselves more engrossed in our work than the rest of our lives. As the day winds down and the people around us begin to log-off and pack up we do the same and as we commute back to where we spend most of our time we transition back into the other person who now needs to provide time and attention to those who are also in our lives but don't share the 8-16 hours a day that we do when we are working. We refresh in our hours away from the office. We recharge in the love and companionship of family and friends. And then we start it all over the next day. We live the arc of a day, each and every working day that we have. What is amazing about the human spirit and ability is that we find both power and energy in our time away from work and within our work. Together, if balanced, we are enthusiastic and fit to tackle the challenges within and outside of work. But, that arc must be managed and balanced for it all to work correctly. When out of synch then we know how we feel; burned out, exhausted, overwhelmed, etc. I was struck by a verse this past week in John Chapter 17. Jesus is near the end of his earthly life and He prays to His Father; "Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began." I read this verse early in the morning before a day that was destined to be out of balance. There would be no time to rest or no time to communicate outside of the work that needed to be done. It was going to be a day where I was not looking forward to the challenges ahead. And then I read this verse and God spoke to me and said, "take a look at what Jesus/I did and then tell me that you can't get through any day ahead of you". I reread the verse and saw Jesus walking out the door to go do His work and near the end of His day looking forward to returning home and to the time before the work began. I heard Him managing the arc of His day! God knows our arc as He created it for us. Allow Him today to carry us from home to work to home and to make the most of the arc of this day! Reference: John 17:5 (New Living Testament)