Another successful day of checking off the boxes of my Lenten promises. Yesterday, I talked about returning to a 5 AM wake up that allows me to start my day off with prayer and exercise, and gets me to work on time.

The next Lenten promise on my list was a 10 PM bedtime. This goes hand-in-hand with the wake up time because my ability to process information and be nice to others diminishes with each minute under seven hours of sleep.

My evenings are often occupied with work, volunteer activities, or school. It seems as if I only have one or two nights a week when I can actually sit down and chill out for a minute. I don’t mind the busyness. I grew up with a mother who never sat down until she went to bed…except on Friday’s when “Dallas” was on. I think most people who know me would tell you I am an active person, and possibly a bit ADHD. When I am fortunate to be home in the evenings, I am usually busy playing catch-up on house work or prepping things for the week to come.

The one thing I miss when I’m not home at night or I am home and busy running around, is spending quality time with my husband. My husband is my favorite person on this earth. No doubt. When I am heading home, I am pretty excited to walk in the door and hear him say, “Snazzle!” (That’s my nickname. And for future reference, my nickname for him is “Sparky.”) I love spending time with my husband, even if it’s just being in the same room with him while doing other things.

This Lenten commitment has made me see the last couple days that if I am going to shorten my day even more in order to wake up earlier, I am going to have to make sure I spend some quality time with my husband. Quality time can be as simple as watching an episode of “The Office” together, folding laundry in the same room while he watches some “Die Hard Lethal Terminator Predator ” movie, or just going to bed early together so we can drift off to sleep in each other’s arms.

We are living out the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, which means there is more than just me and him in this equation. A marriage is three parts: Husband, Wife, and God. We need all three to make it work and anyone who is married knows that it comes with challenges. I think when we let the outside world take God’s place in our marriage equation is when we let those challenges get in the way of what God truly is — LOVE.

So, while a 10 PM bedtime is a good thing to set my sleep/body clock, it is also a reminder. The reminder is that time is precious, so when the evenings are short, make the best use of time by spending it with my favorite person on this earth — my Sparky, my love.

I’ll conclude this evening by asking you to pray for your spouse and ask God to renew the love that seals your marriage covenant. If you aren’t married, say this prayer for a married couple close to you. Good night and God bless you all.

On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
“Sister, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord
To have mercy on us and grant us deliverance.”
Sarah got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
They began with these words:
“Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
Praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone;
Let us make him a partner like himself.’
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
Not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age.”
They said together, “Amen, amen.”

Tobit 8:4-8