Mornings

I've been robbed. Someone out there, someone who’s totally miserable, has it out for me. And I know exactly who it is. Do you believe in little people? I do. They get up in the middle of the night and use some kind of thieving contraption to sap all my energy so when I wake up, I’m pooped--completely divested of my vivacity. All that’s left is a semi-liquid-like slop, which, upon hearing the alarm, clumsily spills out of bed onto the floor into a puddle of exhaustion.  

I have attempted staying up all night, waiting for them to show up so I can laugh in their puny, little faces while I squish them, but they're too small to see so my efforts to stop them fail every time. I get out of bed in the morning only to find that they've made off with my energy yet again! It is MOST disconcerting, and I only hope I can find a way to exterminate these pests entirely, though I am surviving. 

Things used to be worse, you know. If it weren't for some things I learned, they probably still would be. The truth is, while weighed down with this devastating problem of mine, I have often turned to the scriptures for support, comfort and morale-boosting. They teach that I should "arise early, that [my] bod[y] and [my] mind[] may be invigorated." Well, I'm here to tell you, those little people leave me feeling anything but invigorated, no matter how early I get up. So what am I supposed to do about that?

Looking in the Old Testament, I have found at least a half-a-dozen mentions of early risers, Abraham and Moses being particularly noteworthy. Abraham was commanded to offer up his only son, Isaac, and he got up early to do it. Most people would’ve delayed this as much as possible, but Abraham wanted to show the Lord that he was willing to obey him. God told Moses to arise early in the morning to go face Pharaoh and tell him to let the children of Israel go. Moses obeyed, despite the daunting task, and showed God his dedication. From the looks of it, both got up early to be obedient to God's commandments, something very admirable. For the record, I do not believe little people existed back then, which would've made getting up early much less difficult. I am not saying God's prophets had it easy or anything, I am merely stating the facts to the best of my knowledge.

While people in the Old Testament arose early to be obedient, the morning persons of the New Testament did it to be with Jesus. Before I share a few examples, let it be known that there is no empirical data suggesting the presence of little people in New Testament times. Anyway, back to our morning persons - in both Luke 21:38 and John 8:2, many individuals got up early to go hear Jesus teach in the temple. I read once in Mark that both Mary the mother of James and Mary Magdalene rose “very early in the morning” to go anoint Jesus with sweet spices. It was then they learned of His resurrection. By getting up early, they showed that, even though they thought Jesus was dead, their hearts were set upon Him. 

Both being obedient and wanting be with Jesus are stupendous reasons to get up early. But the summit of my scriptural search for how to deal with the little people in the morning jumped right out of the page and zapped me clear full of vigor, as full then as I am empty after a typical night's rest. In Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:26, I read the following words: 

“For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” 

This is the greatest thing I have discovered so far--that every morning is a symbol of Christ’s Second Coming. He is the Son that shines on us each day. He said it Himself: "I am the light of the world." The radiance of the morning bursting forth out of the night and the Man it represents has very nearly remedied my pest-problem. I still have occasional bouts with the little people--don't we all--but I have a higher purpose now. I need to get up early every morning so I can be ready for the morning when Jesus comes again.  

Notes:

D&C 88:124

Genesis 21:14; 22:3

Exodus 24:4

Luke 21:38

John 8:2

Mark 16:2

Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:26

John 8:12

*If you know of any other effective remedies for little-people infestations, please comment below or contact me directly at kimballleavitt@gmail.com.