I GOTTA GET UP!!

"So, is that what gets you out of bed in the morning?" she asked. I had been talking to a woman I regard in very high esteem, about some support groups we had started for girls in the Tigoni community. I have always had the conviction that I ought to share every lesson, every skill, every word of encouragement that someone has ever shared with me to impact someone else's life. If someone invested in me, I ought to invest in someone else. But that is a story for another day. So I and a few friends had come together and formed what we call "Love like Joy Support Groups". Again, that is a story for another day, so you better stay tuned. Back to this lovely lady's living room...I had been going on and on about how the girls in my group were just awesome and how I was always looking forward to the days when we met to see them and spend time with them. That's when she turned to me and asked, "So...is that what gets you out of bed in the morning?" I said yes, because it seemed like the "appropriate" thing to say but to be completely honest, I didn't give it much thought.

That conversation took place around five months ago, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I actually thought about it. You know those moments when you start to think of something and it just sends your mind into overdrive? Well...that has been me this past week. I keep asking myself, "What gets me out of bed in the morning?" and I can't seem to find an answer. It occurred to me that maybe finding out what gets the people closest to me out of bed in the morning would help me discover what gets me out of bed in the morning? I'm not sure that makes any sense. So I posed the question to a few close friends, and one told me, "My job...my job gets me out of bed in the morning." And I was like, technically, I don't have a job...so...maybe not. Another friend told me, " I get out of bed in the morning to get to class on time" Now that I can relate to...but then I have not stepped into a classroom, virtual or otherwise for the past eight or so months so that's not applicable during this season of my life. Yet another one said, "Jesus" that's it. Jesus gets her out of bed in the morning.

Let's first make sure we are on the same page, that we all understand the question, "What gets you out of bed in the morning" If you are thinking along the lines of, what or who gives you the strength to get out of bed in the morning, that could be one way of looking at it, but not quite what I'm getting at. I want us to think in terms of purpose and resolve...what is that thing you have to accomplish that will get you out of your warm blankets on a cold rainy morning when you'd rather stay in bed and have someone make you a nice hot cup of chai, or coffee or hot chocolate? (it's the chai for me😊) What is that that pushes you to get up and get going?

When I was younger, my mum would wake me up to get ready for school. The school bus would pick me up at 5:30 am...yeah...you heard that right... 5:30 am. I wonder how the twelve-year-old me survived because my sleeping habits right now, as one of my favourite teachers would say, leave a lot to be desired. Don't ask me what that means, I have no idea, I assume it's a teacher's way of saying, "My girl...you're trippin' " I don't know how you all were woken up, but my mum would call me once and I'd shoot right out of bed. I know better than to make that woman repeat herself. I'm a rather heavy sleeper, I hardly ever hear my alarm even when it's at full volume...and even when I do, y'all know how we do😅... (Alarms should be banned...they are clearly not working for a majority of the human population...I am the majority of the human population...) So you can imagine how loud she use to call that I would be awoken even from the deepest sleep. During that season of my life, my mum's voice is what got me out of bed in the morning. Not just because it was loud, but because no human being(or animal) with the least bit of self-love would even entertain the thought of getting on mama Faith's wrong books. A few more minutes of sleep were not worth the trouble.

So..."What get's you out of bed in the morning?" It is not an easy question to answer but it's something to think about. and when you figure it out, you have to remind yourself constantly that something in your life is worth far much more than a few more minutes of sleep. It is something I'm learning myself so I wouldn't say that I've nailed it. I just turned nineteen(I am still receiving gifts so not to worry...you are not late) and one of my goals this year is to be purpose-driven. I'll probably talk more about that in another blog but that's one of the reasons I'm writing this blog. I want to wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose and drive. Don't get it twisted, I am not talking about a to-do list, though having one is a great way to keep you focused, I'm talking about having that one thing you seek to accomplish in everything that you do. My best friend Joan would say that she seeks to glorify God in everything that she does, for someone else, it could be to bring joy everywhere she goes and yet for another, to leave a mark of distinction.

I don't know what yours is...frankly speaking, I am yet to grasp exactly what gets me out of bed in the morning. Of course, there's something I purpose to do every day, but what is the over-arching principle? What pushes me? What drives me? What gets me out of bed in the morning?

And you know what, there's nothing wrong with not having it figured out yet...you will eventually, and I will too. And sometimes it is something you can't even put into words, but you feel it in your gut. You just know it. And that drive might change over time, and that's okay. Whether you're fifteen or fifty, we continue to grow, learn new things and unlearn others. It's life! (or as we Kenyans love to say, "si ni life") I mean, look at me, nineteen and clueless, pretending to be Dr Phil, blogging about life issues I probably know nothing about yet. Thirty-five-year-old me will probably read this and think it's ridiculous and write another blog on the same, while seventy-year-old me will look back and just laugh at how wise thirty-five-year-old me thought she was. But that shouldn't stop me from doing it the best I can right now. Furthermore, how will seventy-year-old me ever become a wise and successful writer if nineteen-year-old me just sits and sulks about how little she knows?

Please comment down below and let me know, "What gets you out of bed in the morning? " I really want to know...and it could be really helpful to someone like me who is still trying to figure things out. You never know...tomorrow...that comment could be the reason someone gets out of bed in the morning.