The hour before

I get up every morning at 5.  It is the only hour where no one else is awake for a bit.  I need it.  I need time alone to pray, read scripture and focus on the day ahead.  I need to make sure I continue this discipline.  It makes things better.  Not easier.  Better.  A friend reminded me of this verse this week.

Hebrews 12:11

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Good words I have been meditating on this week.