Rest In Me

Sleep is something I’m not very good at.  I don’t think I’ve had a really good night’s sleep in 20 years - since I was pregnant with my 19-year old son.  It’s not that I can’t get to sleep, it’s that I can’t stay asleep.  Like most moms, I’m awakened by the slightest noise, worried that something might be wrong.  Over the years, my body has become accustomed to waking up after a few hours.  And no thanks to technology, I’ve found ways to occupy these early morning hours - staring at a screen.   Ugh!

So many studies point to sleep as a key to good health.  I know it’s important and each night I tell myself, “Tonight’s going to be different.”  But there’s the problem, I tell MYSELF.  I try to find serenity within and that’s the last place I’m going to find it.

I’m no stranger to the idea that I need to cease relying on my own effort and lean on God.  I know I can’t do this on my own.  Time and experience have taught me I’m a horrible self-regulator.  See, there it is again – SELF.  If only I could rest in the notion that the Holy Spirit will work it out on my behalf.

It seems there’s a simple answer to the question, “How can trusting God help me sleep?”  Faith = Sleep and Sleep = Faith.  This Lenten season I plan to trade old habits for new ones.  (And no, I don’t mean giving up sweets for more vegetables, though I should.) This is what I plan to do:

1.  Go to bed at a reasonable hour.

2.  Don’t scroll through my phone.

3.  When I wake in the middle of the night, repeat today’s verse… “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

And maybe, just maybe, if I repeat “But take heart!” enough times, it’ll send me right back to sleep.  A sleep that will restore not only my mind and body, but my spirit as well.

Wouldn’t it be great to wake up refreshed in the knowledge that He is the Prince of Peace and the day will be better because of my relationship with Him?!