At Once

Am I the only person in the world who is a procrastinator?  I know the answer to this question is no, but somehow it feels that way.  I have never been the kind of person who jumps right out of bed in the morning; I have to lay there and stretch and open one eye at a time.  Then I fumble through the bedroom, and I'm usually just waking up as I'm leaving the house.  I wish I was a morning person... but I'm not.

And then there is the whole Christmas shopping thing.  Some people have their gifts bought in July.  Not me... in fact, I've been known to make a late "Santa" run the day before Christmas.  Case in point?  I've only bought one present as of today...

Papers are written the day before.  I'm always behind on grading.  It works, but sometimes I feel like a madwoman as I try to get it done before the last day of class...

I even kind of sort of procrastinated when it came to this whole God thing.  I was raised in church, one of those every Sunday morning and night and Wednesday night girls.  I believed in God.  I even asked Him to be my Savior when I was 12, and was baptized in a swimming pool at a church camp... but I didn't really get it.  Fast forward fifteen years.  I'm married and don't have to go to church unless I want to... and that whole Savior thing?  I didn't know Him, know Him, if you know what I mean.  Then I had Caleb.... and I remembered the whole "raise up the child" verse and knew I wanted him to have someone to cling to in this crazy world.  A friend introduced me to Beth Moore Bible studies, and I really started listening to sermons instead of working on my to do list... and here I am.  Not perfect, but madly in love with Jesus Christ and trying to figure out why He never left my side, even when I let dust gather on my Bible and kind of misplaced it (although I'm happy to say I have more than made up for that with my current Bible).

Jesus calls us all different ways and in different  circumstances.  It doesn't matter where we come from.  What matters is that we are willing.  It doesn't matter how long it took us... it just matters that we finally answer.  I'm ruminating on this fact as I contemplate our Bible verse for the week for the Melissa Taylor online Bible Study.

"Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed."- Matthew 4:18-20, The Message.  See, Peter and Andrew were just minding their business, fishing, doing what they always did.  Jesus saw them where they were... and called them to become who He knew they could be.  Greater than fishermen... making them Fishers of Men.

"At once they left their nets and followed him.".  At once.. as it says in the Message, they didn't ask any questions.  No hesitation. No procrastination... They just dropped it all and followed Him, to greater things, to more than they can imagine. 

I'm thinking it's time we do the same.