Night Owls vs. Early Birds--Is There Room in the Nest for Both?

Recently I returned from a twelve day adventure to Scotland. I traveled with my friend, Jodi Wilson Kosary. We've known each other since kindergarten. We attended the same small school with basically the same people from kindergarten through high school graduation. We attended church camp together, went to amusement parks together, played guitar and piano together, and sang in many choirs together. And then we went on a trip to Scotland. Together. Just the two of us and forty of our closest friends we didn't yet know.

Traveling can be stressful. Connecting flights, running through the airport, trying to exchange currency, learning how to flush the toilet in a strange place and coping with motion sickness can all accentuate the sense of everything being out of control. But throw in the night owl--who typically finds her bedtime between 11:00 and midnight--with an early bird--who is asleep by 10:00 but up by 6:00 a.m--and the potential for conflict is high.

All the things that are common sense do apply in this situation. Both early bird and night owl were able to compromise and were sensitive to the circadian rhythms of the other. It didn't hurt that the purpose of this adventure was to visit Scotland with author Liz Curtis Higgs.  Ms. Higgs is a Christian author, Bible teacher and "encourager". Both Jodi and I have read her historical fiction (set in Scotland) and gone through her Bible studies. For both of us, the opportunity to have a daily Bible study with Ms. Higgs herself was not to be missed.

This particular Bible study focused on the book of Ruth. I can't teach it any better than Liz, so I won't even try. I will recommend her book The Girl's Still Got It (which can be found at http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/the-girls-still-got-it-book/) and advise, compel, exhort and entreat you to get a copy and go through it with a friend or group of friends. (And yes, I know how to use a thesaurus.)

What I will tell you is that the answer to my question of early birds, night owls and room in the nest was found in that study. A major theme of the study was that Christ came so that outsiders could be insiders. The labels we attach to ourselves and others are made by us--not by the God who created us and loves us.

So on the penultimate day of the trip--when the early bird looked at the night owl and asked if setting the alarm for 4:30 a.m for a 6:30 a.m. pick up time to the airport--the tired night owl did not attack the early bird. Rather, a compromise was made and the alarm was set. The night owl slept in while the early bird got ready, and they both made it to the airport on time. (In a nice bit of irony, the flight out was delayed more than an hour and both the night owl and early bird could have slept in a wee bit more…whatever that might have been.)

Indeed, there is room in the nest for both the night owl and the early bird.