GOD, YOU COMING OR WHAT?

GOD, YOU COMING OR WHAT?

I invited God into my mornings. Then I realized I'd been leaving Him out of the rest of my damn day.

By Don Mikey

And depending on how religious you are, you might want to put your coffee down before I ask it.

What the hell happens to God after we say Amen?

Seriously.

Think about it.

We wake up. We pray. We thank Him for another day. We ask Him to protect our families, guide our decisions, forgive our stupidity, and preferably keep us from making any new bad decisions before lunchtime.

Then we say…

AMEN.

Get up.

Grab our phones.

Check our messages.

Start worrying about some shit that hasn't even happened yet.

And proceed to live the next sixteen hours like God clocked out when we finished praying.

I know.

Sounds ridiculous.

But here's the uncomfortable part.

I've done it too.

GOD, YOUR SHIFT IS OVER

For a while now, I've been dedicating time every morning to prayer.

Not the quick “Lord, bless this food” kind of prayer.

I'm talking about sitting down, reading Scripture, reflecting, talking to God about my family, my struggles, my hopes, my mistakes, and all the other things running around inside this head of mine.

Sometimes an hour.

Sometimes longer.

And I genuinely love that time.

It's peaceful.

It's personal.

It's where I can be completely honest without worrying about how I sound.

Because let's face it, God already knows what I'm thinking.

MIGHT AS WELL SAVE US BOTH THE BS.

But one day, something occurred to me.

I was spending all this time inviting God into my mornings…

And then going about the rest of my day without consciously including Him.

Not intentionally.

Not because I stopped believing.

I just got busy living.

And somehow, without realizing it, I'd turned my relationship with God into something resembling a scheduled appointment.

Good morning, Lord. Wonderful meeting. Same time tomorrow?

What the hell?

Since when did the Creator of the universe need an appointment on my calendar?

THE UNINVITED GUEST

Here's where it gets interesting.

Imagine inviting your best friend to your house.

You open the door.

Give him a hug.

Sit down together.

Have a wonderful conversation.

Then, after an hour, you stand up and say:

“Well, that was great. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Except…

You didn't invite him over for a visit.

You invited him to share your life.

And now you're acting like he needs to leave because you've got shit to do.

That's when it hit me.

Maybe I've been treating God like a guest when He's supposed to be part of the family.

Not somebody I occasionally invite into the important moments.

Somebody who's welcome in ALL OF THEM.

Even the boring ones.

Especially the boring ones.

LORD, WE'RE GOING TO PUBLIX

Now here's where some people might think I've officially lost my mind.

Because I started thinking…

Why shouldn't I invite God into everything?

Not just prayer.

Not just church.

Not just when something goes wrong.

EVERYTHING.

Going grocery shopping?

Lord, let's go.

Working on another Don Mikey shirt?

Lord, come see this ridiculous idea.

Exercising?

Lord, give me the discipline to finish what I started.

Competing?

Lord, help me give my best without letting the outcome determine my worth.

Driving?

Lord, please help me maintain my good character when somebody cuts me off.

And trust me…

THAT LAST ONE IS A FREAKING FULL-TIME TRIAL.

Spending time with Jackie?

Lord, thank You for this woman and another day together.

Cooking dinner?

Lord, I hope You're hungry, because the chef is working today. 🤣

Enjoying a sunset?

Lord, look at that.

Okay, obviously He already knows what the sunset looks like.

HE MADE THE DAMN THING.

But that's not the point.

The point is sharing the moment.

Recognizing His presence.

Making Him part of the experience instead of waiting until something goes wrong before remembering He's there.

BUT DON'T YOU HAVE TO BE HOLY FOR THAT?

Here's another thought I had.

What if I'm doing something that doesn't exactly look spiritual?

What if I'm at a restaurant having a drink?

Laughing at something ridiculous?

Playing golf?

Watching a baseball game?

Working on a shirt that says something my grandmother probably wouldn't approve of?

Can I still invite God into those moments?

That's a question worth asking.

Because I don't believe inviting God into everyday life means pretending every single thing I do is automatically good just because I mention His name.

Quite the opposite.

Sometimes inviting God into a moment might make me realize I need to change what I'm doing.

Or how I'm doing it.

Or why I'm doing it.

SOMETIMES THE INVITATION IS EXACTLY WHAT EXPOSES THE BULL....

Maybe I was about to say something I didn't need to say.

Maybe my ego was getting a little too comfortable.

Maybe I was making a decision based on fear instead of faith.

Maybe I was confusing stubbornness with strength.

And maybe involving God in that moment gives me the opportunity to recognize it before I make a bigger mess.

Not because I suddenly become perfect.

SHIT... TRUST ME, WE'RE A LONG FREAKING WAY FROM THAT.

But because I become more willing to listen.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWING AND INVITING

Now, some of you might be thinking:

But Don Mikey, God is already everywhere. Why do you need to invite Him?

Exactly.

That's the beauty of it.

I'm not inviting God because He's absent.

I'M INVITING HIM BECAUSE SOMETIMES I AM.

Physically, I'm there.

Mentally?

I'm somewhere between yesterday's regrets, tomorrow's problems, and whatever stupid thing my brain has decided to worry about today.

I can be sitting next to someone I love while thinking about something completely unrelated.

I can be enjoying a beautiful day while stressing over things I cannot control.

I can be surrounded by blessings and still act like something is missing.

Not because God disappeared.

Because my attention did.

And that's what inviting Him back into the moment does for me.

It's a reminder.

Hey, God. I'm here. You're here. Let's do this together.

That's it.

No fancy ritual.

No perfect words.

No special location.

Just a relationship that continues after Amen.

JESUS DIDN'T LIVE IN A CHURCH BUILDING

One of the things I find fascinating about Jesus is how much of His ministry happened in ordinary places.

At dinner tables.

On roads.

Near fishing boats.

At weddings.

In people's homes.

He shared meals.

He traveled.

He had conversations.

He met people where they were.

And yes, He prayed.

But His relationship with the Father wasn't confined to a designated prayer hour.

In John 15:4, Jesus tells His followers:

“Abide in me, and I in you.”

That word abide really got my attention.

Not visit.

Not occasionally check in.

ABIDE.

Remain.

Stay connected.

Make your home there.

And suddenly, the whole idea started making sense.

Maybe the goal isn't to become somebody who prays more and more until there's no time left for anything else.

Maybe it's to become somebody who brings that relationship into everything else.

WHAT ABOUT WHEN LIFE GETS UGLY?

Of course, it's easy to invite God along when everything is going great.

Beautiful weather.

Good food.

Money in the bank.

Family doing well.

Everybody happy.

Lord, isn't life wonderful?

But what about the other days?

When the phone call brings bad news.

When your plans fall apart.

When somebody you love is hurting.

When you work hard for something and the results don't come.

When you're trying to understand why God allowed something you desperately wanted to be different.

Those are the moments when I need this relationship most.

And here's something I'm still learning.

INVITING GOD INTO A SITUATION DOESN'T MEAN HE'S GOING TO CHANGE THE OUTCOME TO MATCH MY EXPECTATIONS.

I wish it worked that way.

Believe me.

There are things I've prayed for that didn't happen the way I wanted.

And there have been moments when I couldn't understand why.

But maybe inviting Him into those moments isn't only about asking Him to fix what hurts.

Maybe it's about trusting Him enough to remain present even when I don't understand.

To keep doing what is mine to do.

And leave the rest with Him.

That's harder than it sounds.

Especially for somebody like me who has spent a lifetime believing that if something needs fixing, I ought to be able to fix it.

Apparently, God is still working on that particular department.

AND THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IS RUNNING BEHIND SCHEDULE.

SO HERE'S MY NEW PLAN

I'm not abandoning my morning prayer.

Not a chance.

I love that time.

It's part of who I'm becoming.

But I don't want my relationship with God to end when I get out of the chair.

I want to take it with me.

Into my marriage.

Into my family.

Into my work.

Into my workouts.

Into competition.

Into my dreams.

Into the small pleasures that make life worth living.

Into the things that scare me.

And yes…

Even into the occasional bad decision that i have made... or better yet, before it becomes one.

I want to learn to recognize God not only in the extraordinary, but in the completely ordinary.

Because maybe that's where I've been missing some of the greatest blessings.

Not in the moments when life stops and demands my attention.

But in the moments I normally rush through without giving them a second thought.

GOD, YOU COMING OR WHAT?

So tomorrow morning, I'll pray again.

I'll thank God for another day.

I'll talk to Him about the people I love.

I'll ask for wisdom, patience, protection, strength, and whatever else is weighing on my heart.

And eventually, I'll say Amen.

But this time, instead of treating that word like the end of our conversation…

I'm going to treat it like the beginning of our day together.

I'll get up.

Grab my Coke Zero... I don't drink coffee.

Check on Jackie.

Figure out what needs doing.

And somewhere along the way, I'll probably come up with another ridiculous idea for a shirt.

Then I'll smile and say:

“LORD, YOU COMING OR WHAT?”

And maybe, just maybe, I'll remember something I should've understood a long time ago.

HE NEVER LEFT.

I was just forgetting to include Him.

Blessings. Bad Decisions. Life Lessons. Ignorant Behavior.

WEAR YOUR BLESSINGS.

162429 | DonMikey.com

P.S. Lord, just so we're clear… if You come along while I'm designing shirts, please don't start suggesting one last tweak. I've already got Chat for that shit. AMEN! 🤣