God Time and the Lessons I Learned

This post is by Janine Muniz.

God time. How often have we heard that spoken about, read about, made tutorials about? The more I heard it, the more foreign it started to feel. I even began to feel guilty over not getting it right. Was there even a right way to spend God time? I decided to figure it out.

Usually, when I asked others about how they spend time with God, the answer was more or less the same: 

• God comes first.
• It is a special time.
• You have to protect that time.
• Here are some YouTubers you might want to check out.
• These books should help you out.

I tried all the things that were suggested, and only two things resonated with me: God comes first, and it is a special time that needs to be protected. God comes first, check. Guard my time spent with God, check. 

Those concepts gave me some direction. But, I still felt lost. With all the resources and suggestions, I continued searching for what I thought was the right way. 

Then one day, I heard my youngest son singing. I couldn’t make out all the words, but he didn’t care. It was his song that he was singing, and he was happy.  He didn't care about what other people were singing. It was just his happy song. Then it hit me. I was doing it all wrong. It wasn't about the kind of Bible I used, how cool my writing utensils were, or the size of my coffee cup. It was about creating God Time that works for me. I had been so focused on finding the right way that I missed my way.

God Time is very personal and sacred. He does not require me, or anyone else for that matter, to buy things or follow the latest trend. Nor did He want me to be anyone else. All He wants is time with me...the authentic me. 

God wants me to sit in His presence and be still. He wants me to be protective of this time. Does life get in the way? It can. Some mornings my kids wake up before I am finished. And that’s OK. It can be a teachable moment as well. Being able to answer their questions and explain what God Time is became a lesson for myself. I realized I knew more than I thought. 

The most important thing is to give some of your time to God. It could be for two hours or ten minutes. Either way, God is going to be happy you’re spending time with Him. And you’ll feel the same way.

Janine Muniz is currently pursuing an MFA in creative writing at Southern New Hampshire University and is in the beginning stages of her first novel. She has written anecdotal stories and opinion pieces on different topics when she was a writer for SNHU Odyssey, a student-run writer’s platform, and featured on Sweatpants & Coffee. When she’s not setting her newest idea to paper, Janine is a planner enthusiast, loving all things kawaii. She lives in a full house with her husband, three boys, two cats, and two dogs in Ronkonkoma, NY.

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash