The Hour of 3 o'clock

It is 3am and the baby wakes up to eat.  I nurse him and shut my eyes for a while and hear the pitter patter of little feet around 4:15am.  It is our 2 year old wanting to cuddle.  I put him back to bed and try once again to shut my eyes.  5:15am our 4 year old is awake and ready to start the day.  I walk downstairs and make the much needed pot of coffee.  I pour a cup and curl up in my favorite chair for my morning prayer and devotional time.  I breath in the graces that God is granting me for the day and am feeling energized.

 

By the time I am finished with my morning prayers our whole house is awake and going.  There is breakfast to be made, showers and dressing to occur, beds and rooms to be tidied, and chores to be done.  We kiss my husband goodbye as he goes off to work and start our day plans.  We learn, play and explore.

 

By noon lunch time comes and hungry little ones gobble down their food and chat about the randomness of life.  At 1pm the little ones go to bed and school time starts with the older ones.  We learn about Jesus, explore the world, and read about great adventures.  By the time we are finished we hear little ones cries or coming down the stairs as their nap time ends.

 

3pm.  We made it here.  It's been a good day, or maybe it hasn't.  Either way, 3pm comes and I have usually been up and giving for about 10-12 hours by now.  I am getting tired, but I still have hours of play, dinner to be made, being excited for my husband to return home, bath time, stories, bedtime and more. 

 

3pm.  That hour that as mothers we feel like our day has gone on forever, but we still have so much of our day left. 

 

3pm.  The hour that Christ died on the cross.  He died for our sins.  He died to give us everlasting life.  He was too exhausted to carry on, He followed God's plan for Him, and He handed His life over to God.

 

 

Jesus understands the cross.  He understands what crosses He gives to us in our daily lives.  Each of our crosses look and feel different for each one of us.  But each of us are hearing the same thing from Jesus if we listen, "I am here.  I want to help you carry your cross.  I love you."

 

3pm.  The hour that we have the opportunity to make a choice.  We can grumble, and complain, and be exhausted.  We can fall apart, start yelling, and feel stressed. 

 

Or, we can meet Jesus at the cross. 

 

We can stop, literally stop, right where we are and meet Him there at the cross.  We can say a prayer of thanksgiving for what has occurred so far in the day and ask for Jesus to give us grace to continue to carry our crosses throughout the rest of the day.  We can trust in Jesus, that He will help us through those difficult moments, those stressful moments, those moments of pure exhaustion. 

 

The best part is understanding what happened after that horrible hour of 3 o'clock when our Savior died on the cross, and that is the beautiful gift of the Resurrection.  Jesus was resurrected from the dead and is living again with each one of us, right now, today.  He is here to get each of us through our own hour of 3 o 'clock, and help us with each of our own crosses.  The big question is, are we ready to meet Him there at the hour of 3 o'clock!     

 

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.