The Ants Go Marching...

My daughter is seven years old and often has trouble going to sleep - rather she does not go to sleep easily. One of her favorite things is to have her mother or I sing to her at night as she drifts off to sleep. Often it is a pleasure to sing to her as she goes to sleep but sometimes it becomes a chore or yet another task on top of a pile of others that need to be completed late into the evening. 

Not only does our daughter request (sometimes petition) that we sing to her at night, she also asks for a specific number of songs - usually three - and specific songs to be sung. One of her favorite songs at night is "The Ants Go Marching", and I am convinced that it is one of her favorites because it is such a long song. I'm sure you know the song...

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrahThe ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrahThe ants go marching one by one,The little one stops to suck his thumbAnd they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rainBOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 

The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrahThe ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrahThe ants go marching two by two,The little one stops to tie his shoeAnd they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! 

The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrahThe ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrahThe ants go marching three by three,The little one stops to climb a treeAnd they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

And on, and on, and on it goes.  But see, it is on the evenings that singing to my daughter seems like more of a chore - as though it is only another task - that I begin to sing this particular song in super-fast, speed-singing version in order to get to the tenth and final verse quicker. 

Last night was one of these nights. In fact I think I made it through this song faster than ever before - start to finish in less than two minutes. And, although I am quite proud of this speed-sung rendition, it struck me soon after finishing it how wrong it was that I had raced through singing to my one and only daughter rather than cherishing this moment and the time I got to spend with her at night. 

And it struck my how I often fall into this same mode whenever I read God's Word, study my morning devotions, and have my prayer and quiet time in the morning. Often I seem to race through these individual and intimate moments with The Lord rather than cherishing the time I have the privilege and opportunity to spend with Him. 

It is not something that I realize, not something that I intend to do, it just seems that everything else that needs to be done comes to my mind and I begin to rush, I begin to hurry, I begin to make my time with God less of a joy and more of a task.  Perhaps you have experienced the same thing in regard to your time with God. Essentially what we do is tell God that He is not quite as important as everything else that might come our way throughout the day.

Now that I have recognized this in my life I aim to spend more time cherishing the things I claim to be a priority - my time with God, my time with my wife, and my time with my children. I aim to pray and seek God's assistance in this as well. What about you, what will you do?