When You Wake Up Not Feeling So Great But Have to Get To Work Anyway

Some days we wake up not feeling so great. Not sick; just not great.

When we're truly sick - like with the flu or a really bad cold, or something like that - the prudent thing is to stay home, not go to work. And there's no merit in "powering through" in such situations. Why infect others with your plague?

But there are days where we're simply feeling "off" or maybe a few degrees worse. It could be physical, mental, or emotional.

Physical stuff can range from injuries (from whatever source) or internal discombobulation. 

A personal note: A few times I've had to "power through" my long commute on the subway with lower back ache or, a couple of times, knee pain that forced me to wear a brace. Without getting into the details, just know that this was pretty tough going. And having gotten to the office, there was a full day's labor ahead with yet another commute. Oh well.

Internal discombobulation (not a medical term!) can come from many sources. Sometimes its more serious than just a passing matter. For example, if you know someone with a condition like ulcerative colitis, or diverticulitis, you know they have to maintain a disciplined preventive regimen to avoid what can be severe pain. But they'll typically get on with their work day. Frankly, the boss may sympathize, but as you're being paid for an honest day's labor, you're expected to provide just that.

As for emotional gyrations, these come and go for most of us. It's the rare fellow who can keep a calm, even tempered emotional balance 24/7. But unless you've got some diagnosed emotional condition that requires medical attention and chemical remedies, it's probably the vicissitudes of life that grab you and shake you up from time to time.

So basically, if it's just a morning where you wake up not feeling so great, you know you've got to gear up and get going. Ideally, you stick to whatever morning routine you have, which may include prayer, some quiet moments with God (meditation), reading Scripture, some spiritual reading, maybe some study of our Holy Catholic Religion. 

You can do all this, but ideally, it's done after acknowledging your plight to our Heavenly Father and seeking His grace and His Helping Hand. It's a whole heck of a lot better than relying strictly on ourselves. Besides, we should be advancing enough in our spiritual life to know that we must rely on God in and for everything.

One specific reason - both spiritual and practical - to stick to a morning routine that includes reading is simply this: We'll inevitably be amazed at the many times we'll "stumble on" a passage that seems to speak directly to how we're feeling. It could be some reading whether Scripture or from a good spiritual source. And we'll likely think something like, "What a coincidence that this just showed up!" 

Of course, it's not a coincidence at all. It's how God works in our lives. And it's especially how He works when we need a helping hand, or a bit of advice or counsel about some matter that's on our mind, perhaps got us down or in a tizzy.

Here's one example of this. Waking up on one such morning, with our discipline of reading the Psalms each day, we come upon this beginning to Psalm 39. This particular passage could address not only the "not feeling great" ailments referenced. And notice that at the end, we're advised not to fall back on "vanities" (relying solely on our own power) or "lying follies" (which might, for example, be one or more of the superficial bromides that the secular world offers, displacing God as our true source of strength and consolation).

So not feeling so great. Read and meditate for a few moments on this. It takes all of a minute or so.

2 With expectation I have waited for the Lord, and he was attentive to me. 3 And he heard my prayers, and brought me out of the pit of misery and the mire of dregs. And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps. 4 And he put a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many shall see, and shall fear: and they shall hope in the Lord. 5 Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord; and who hath not had regard to vanities, and lying follies.